Sit Investment Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,407 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coatue Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Natera by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Natera by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.53.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $231.41 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of -141.97 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.20 and a 200-day moving average of $215.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $594,781.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,293,298.34. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% 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. Insiders have sold 162,342 shares of company stock valued at $35,283,396 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.