Castleark Management LLC Sells 29,370 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Castleark Management LLC cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 29,370 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $6,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total value of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $154.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of -87.80 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.13 and a 200-day moving average of $157.15. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.14 and a 12-month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.56) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 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.