Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,625,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,398,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Natera by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Natera by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 2.0%

Natera stock opened at $218.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -134.24 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.84. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total transaction of $1,191,769.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 150,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,777,983.66. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,406 shares of company stock worth $6,984,955. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.60.

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.