California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 197,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,104 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Natera were worth $39,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 68.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. BTIG Research set a $275.00 target price on Natera and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Natera from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Natera Stock Down 0.7%

NTRA opened at $267.76 on Friday. 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 $38.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -164.27 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $246.77 and a 200-day moving average of $222.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 173,951 shares of company stock worth $39,412,294. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.