Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,264 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $4,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 104.3% during 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 372.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $151.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 307,466 shares of company stock worth $49,047,655. 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.