Ground Swell Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 3,078 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. Natera makes up about 1.1% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 4.5% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $207.84 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The company has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.76 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.16.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total value of $378,232.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 137,847 shares in the company, valued at $31,810,952.19. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $1,090,388.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,420,710.12. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 455,899 shares of company stock valued at $106,475,440 over the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.20.

Natera 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.