Nicholas Investment Partners LP Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Nicholas Investment Partners LP trimmed its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,023 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $4,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Natera by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,179,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,312,000 after purchasing an additional 620,954 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $212.07 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $206.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.99. The company has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.10 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,378 shares of company stock valued at $34,640,860. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.53.

About Natera

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.