Jennison Associates LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 212,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,330 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $42,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in Natera by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total value of $818,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 134,643 shares in the company, valued at $36,744,074.70. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $262.63 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $288.04. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -161.12 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NTRA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Natera from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.83.

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.