Quent Capital LLC Sells 3,008 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Quent Capital LLC trimmed its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 94.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 175 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in Natera by 25.2% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after acquiring an additional 269,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 25.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after acquiring an additional 246,246 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $170.73 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.03 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.68 and its 200-day moving average is $142.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.01 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total value of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,552,445.92. The trade was a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 305,454 shares of company stock valued at $51,290,625. 7.60% of the stock is 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.