Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,161 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,963 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Natera by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,581 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $631,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 0.9 %

Natera stock opened at $175.00 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.80 and a fifty-two week high of $177.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -99.43 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. Analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.00.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $206,378.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,501,707.40. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,932 shares of company stock valued at $20,635,430 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.