J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes $2.83 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $412,000. Northwest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. LVW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $458,000. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRA. Wall Street Zen raised Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $199.99 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.34 billion, a PE ratio of -130.71 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $1,147,822.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 156,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,968,186.91. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 915 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $186,778.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 150,882 shares in the company, valued at $30,799,542.66. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 318,344 shares of company stock valued at $74,091,416 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.