Castleark Management LLC Has $5.87 Million Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Castleark Management LLC lessened its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,620 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $5,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Natera by 56.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,490,144,000 after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $277,749,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 140.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,253,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $177,298,000 after acquiring an additional 732,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 44.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,717,000 after purchasing an additional 532,769 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $231.95 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.38 and a 52-week high of $246.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $206.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.74. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -101.29 and a beta of 1.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.15, for a total transaction of $714,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 109,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,972,877.15. This represents a 2.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 4,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total value of $1,061,374.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,388.70. The trade was a 43.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 312,053 shares of company stock valued at $64,527,735. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. Zacks Research downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.29.

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.