Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,691 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,184 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $12,981,000. Systrade AG purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,454,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,825,000. Meridiem Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,900,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Natera by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,355 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.00.

Natera Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $1.85 on Tuesday, reaching $281.95. 382,028 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,239. The business’s 50-day moving average is $221.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.64. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.81 and a fifty-two week high of $288.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -173.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total value of $818,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 134,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,744,074.70. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% 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. Insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.