Natera, Inc. $NTRA Stock Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,154 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,491 shares during the quarter. Natera accounts for 0.8% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $37,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 4.8% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth $310,000. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in Natera in the third quarter worth about $487,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $157,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $403.95. 1,101,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,882. The company has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a PE ratio of -297.02 and a beta of 1.50. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.00 and a 52-week high of $437.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.37.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.74) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $350.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Stephens lifted their price target on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Chapman sold 3,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.07, for a total value of $909,570.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,162,350.11. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 197,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,424,043.21. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 52,985 shares of company stock valued at $16,119,137 over the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.