Quest Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Quest Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 28.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Natera by 0.9% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 227,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 143,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 31,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 6,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at about $5,326,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

Natera Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $168.32 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.88 and a 52 week high of $171.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of -93.63 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total value of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,552,445.92. This represents a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. The trade was a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.