Whipplewood Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 753 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,695,784.62. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,164 shares of company stock worth $8,644,535. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.63.

Natera Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $160.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of -90.99 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.52. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

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

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.