Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $317,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after purchasing an additional 24,324 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $174,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at $27,090,827.94. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 241,680 shares of company stock worth $40,102,873. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $168.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.58 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.43. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.74 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share 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.