73,929 Shares in Natera, Inc. $NTRA Purchased by Meridiem Capital Partners LP

Meridiem Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 73,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BOKF NA grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Silvant Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the second quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 4.5% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC grew its stake in Natera by 4.0% in the third quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total transaction of $19,680,185.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,504,704.32. This trade represents a 40.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 318,222 shares of company stock valued at $74,068,068. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $190.20. 135,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,872. The company has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.31 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.47.

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.