Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stake Lowered by Snowden Capital Advisors LLC

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 104.3% in the fourth 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.12.

Natera Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $154.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.15. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of -87.80 and a beta of 1.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total transaction of $49,923.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,843,490.30. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.