AGF Management Ltd. Sells 557,463 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

AGF Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 82.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 116,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 557,463 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Natera worth $18,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,786,000 after buying an additional 3,892 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 35,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after buying an additional 7,340 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $140.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.10 and a 200-day moving average of $148.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of -79.56 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.56.

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.