Deutsche Bank AG Grows Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 185.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,482 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,243 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.18% of Natera worth $34,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Natera by 2.0% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 1.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 5.0% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,676 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $159.81 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.57 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.67 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $155.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.81.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTRA. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Sunday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Natera to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total transaction of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 163,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,738,237.84. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total value of $332,392.32. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,458.71. This represents a 30.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,239 shares of company stock worth $8,986,542 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.