Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 936,629 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 22,055 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of Natera worth $132,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,040,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $163.36. 1,156,837 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,188. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of -111.13 and a beta of 1.73.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The company 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 firm posted ($0.56) EPS. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.77, for a total transaction of $500,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 130,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,714,287.85. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,343 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total transaction of $889,769.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 173,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,930,923.84. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,272 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,368. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.63.

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.