GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $3.08 Million in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,077,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coatue Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $309.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.40. The company has a market cap of $44.67 billion, a PE ratio of -227.89 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.71 and a 12-month high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $260.00 price objective on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 John Fesko sold 295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at $49,249,594.26. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.