National Bank of Canada FI Sells 661 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 661 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Natera were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at about $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $573,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,894,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,101,319.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,208,639.48. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $151.97 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of -86.35 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released 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 business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

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.