Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,492,857.52. This trade represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NTRA. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $143.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.78 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.