BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases New Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,657,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 712,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,787,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Corient IA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.6% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $215,127,000 after acquiring an additional 80,865 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total value of $471,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 133,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,990,082. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock worth $9,227,972. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTRA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised Natera to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $161.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.37 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.57 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The company’s revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.