Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 1,123 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Natera were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the 4th 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 period. Covestor Ltd raised 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total value of $162,693.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,827,338.52. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 241,680 shares of company stock worth $40,102,873 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $168.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.58 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $166.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.43. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.74 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.