Artemis Investment Management LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lowered its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 129,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 135,994 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Natera were worth $20,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 187,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Natera by 35.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 264,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,680,000 after buying an additional 69,523 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 8.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 216,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,445,000 after buying an additional 16,317 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $767,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at $23,501,707.40. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 123,409 shares of company stock worth $20,045,631. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $158.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.98 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.96 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $164.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.63.

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.