Blue Water Life Science Advisors LP Sells 42,000 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Blue Water Life Science Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 20.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 166,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 42,000 shares during the period. Natera comprises approximately 22.3% of Blue Water Life Science Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Blue Water Life Science Advisors LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $28,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,141,594,000 after purchasing an additional 282,826 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after buying an additional 3,263,822 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Natera by 56.3% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 3,795,315 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $430,640,000 after acquiring an additional 166,768 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Natera by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,908,000 after acquiring an additional 245,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total transaction of $1,710,577.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total transaction of $17,709,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,154,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,529,231.76. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 312,053 shares of company stock worth $64,527,735. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $235.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.85 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.16. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $246.90.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NTRA. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price target on Natera and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.