Westpac Banking Corp Sells 4,566 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,566 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. One Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741 shares during the period. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NTRA. Wolfe Research began coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.81.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $211.85 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a PE ratio of -129.97 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $256.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 185,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,684,020.88. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total value of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 137,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,406 shares of company stock valued at $24,824,425. Insiders own 5.05% 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.