Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 65,292 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management cut its stake in Natera by 29.9% in Q4, selling 65,292 shares and leaving it with 153,323 shares (about 0.11% ownership) valued at roughly $35.1 million.
• Insider sales continued under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding—CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares at $193.74 and CEO Steven Chapman sold 5,838 shares at $204.14—with insiders selling 138,069 shares (~$30.9 million) in the quarter and now owning 5.63% of the company.
• Fundamentals and outlook: Natera beat expectations last quarter (EPS $0.35 vs. consensus -$0.46; revenue $665.5M vs. $600.7M), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $253.47 price target.

Artemis Investment Management LLP decreased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,323 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 65,292 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.11% of Natera worth $35,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,293,298.34. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 150,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,777,983.66. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 138,069 shares of company stock worth $30,896,634 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $207.28 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $202.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.75. The company has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of -135.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.47.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.