Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 185,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,424,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its position in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Natera by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH grew its position in shares of Natera by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH now owns 2,229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 4.3%

NTRA opened at $325.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.02 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $269.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.01. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.71 and a 52-week high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total value of $79,057.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 183,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,249,594.26. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

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.