JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 1,003,129 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 8.41% of Natera worth $1,871,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,141,594,000 after purchasing an additional 282,826 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $430,640,000 after buying an additional 166,768 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,346,000 after buying an additional 330,696 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,717,000 after acquiring an additional 532,769 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $277,749,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Stephens increased their target price on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

Natera Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $206.23 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.06 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $229.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.00.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total value of $19,680,185.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 127,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,504,704.32. This represents a 40.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $5,447,141.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,035,422.08. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 455,899 shares of company stock valued at $106,475,440 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company 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.