Deepwater Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Deepwater Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 39,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,082,000. Natera accounts for approximately 2.6% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total transaction of $655,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 137,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% 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. Insiders sold 156,530 shares of company stock valued at $33,914,062 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $215.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $256.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.12.

Natera 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.