Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Beaconlight Capital LLC

Beaconlight Capital LLC cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,994 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 29,821 shares during the period. Natera comprises 2.6% of Beaconlight Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Beaconlight Capital LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $7,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 104.3% in 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 372.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. This trade represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 196,601 shares of company stock valued at $29,831,575. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $156.66 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a PE ratio of -89.01 and a beta of 1.80. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $146.93 and a 200-day moving average of $154.37.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.76.

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.