Eagle Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 662,381 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 61,797 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $88,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 25.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 14.6% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $132,197,000 after purchasing an additional 155,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $169.20 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.62 and a 12-month high of $171.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.84 and its 200 day moving average is $117.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.14 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.