Eagle Asset Management Inc. Sells 61,797 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 662,381 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 61,797 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.54% of Natera worth $88,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 32.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.5% in the third quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 5.4% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,552,445.92. This trade represents a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,090,827.94. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $169.20 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $53.62 and a one year high of $171.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.14 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

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.