Royal Bank of Canada Has $57.61 Million Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 288,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 44,077 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Natera were worth $57,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 384,713 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $76,939,000 after purchasing an additional 50,220 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Natera by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $234,315,000 after purchasing an additional 227,605 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Natera by 8.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,310,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Natera by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 11,126 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new position in shares of Natera during the first quarter worth about $367,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NTRA opened at $267.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.22. The stock has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a PE ratio of -164.27 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $288.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,500. This represents a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 173,951 shares of company stock valued at $39,412,294 over the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.