Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Cuts Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,941 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Natera were worth $41,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% during 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP raised its position in Natera by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $148.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of -84.26 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.54. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays started coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Company 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.