Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $69.11 Million Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 429,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 183,106 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Natera worth $69,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Natera by 50.6% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Natera by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 63,377 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,167 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $1,493,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1,080.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 38,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Citigroup started coverage on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.20.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $227.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $235.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.42 and a beta of 1.64. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 928 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.66, for a total value of $220,548.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 175,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,718,836.40. This trade represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.66, for a total value of $866,983.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 213,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,664,358.80. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 350,703 shares of company stock worth $82,221,116. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.