Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,384,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 97,828 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Natera were worth $377,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 372.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 1,328.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $143.20 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.36 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares in the company, valued at $10,457,844.37. The trade was a 3.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 318,922 shares of company stock worth $50,619,104 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.