Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Position Decreased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 190,177 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Natera were worth $18,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at $258,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth $671,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at $206,000. M&G PLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 104,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 891 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.56.

Natera Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $141.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.63. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,299 shares of company stock valued at $34,948,265. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

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.