Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Sells 1,462 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,648 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Natera were worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,927,655.20. This represents a 2.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $167.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $155.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.83. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.53 and a 12 month high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.67.

About Natera

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.