Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 37.9% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,936,000 after purchasing an additional 18,316 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd 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. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $19,760,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Natera Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $172.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of -98.19 and a beta of 1.66. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 312,394 shares of company stock worth $52,333,520 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.