Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 165,275 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 593,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 165,275 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Natera worth $95,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 95.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of Natera by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 256.8% during the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 23.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,552,392.42. This trade represents a 36.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total transaction of $19,680,185.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,504,704.32. This trade represents a 40.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 367,669 shares of company stock worth $85,584,453. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $203.03 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.76. The stock has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of -132.70 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.41) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.