Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,245 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Natera worth $61,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Natera by 68.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth about $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth approximately $558,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Natera from an “outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.99, for a total transaction of $545,041.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,520,897.01. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at $36,238,698.51. The trade was a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 71,206 shares of company stock worth $19,944,069 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $328.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $297.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.66. The firm has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -241.86 and a beta of 1.54. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.43 and a 1 year high of $343.18.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The business’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.74) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.