Natera, Inc. $NTRA Stock Holdings Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,168 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,536 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $271.39 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04. The company has a market cap of $38.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -166.50 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $233.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTRA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.83.

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.