Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 711,394 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 172,144 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $162,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $12,981,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Natera by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,096,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Natera by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 148,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 57,400 shares during the period. Finally, SWS Partners increased its position in Natera by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. SWS Partners now owns 47,037 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NTRA. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $193.03 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.66. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The company has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.16 and a beta of 1.68.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $5,447,141.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 144,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,035,422.08. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 314,545 shares of company stock worth $73,141,185 in the last quarter. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.