First Hawaiian Bank Invests $2.08 Million in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after buying an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 13.0% in the first quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,927,683 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $359,226,000 after purchasing an additional 452,800 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,703,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $106,714,000 after purchasing an additional 112,825 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $83,970,000. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in Natera by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 1,110,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $69,530,000 after purchasing an additional 211,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $97.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,121,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,295. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of -31.38 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $117.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.05.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 49.72%. The business had revenue of $367.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total value of $725,895.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,499,348.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 77,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,314,693.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $725,895.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 219,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,499,348.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,387 shares of company stock valued at $12,684,836 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% 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.