Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Natera by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $809,294.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,143,190.08. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 312,394 shares of company stock worth $52,333,520. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $172.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of -98.19 and a beta of 1.66. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.02.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.