Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $163.73 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 714,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,890 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $163,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Natera by 123.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $222.10 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The company has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.26 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.12.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 150,769 shares in the company, valued at $30,777,983.66. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,406 shares of company stock valued at $24,824,425. 5.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Company 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.