Duquesne Family Office LLC Cuts Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Duquesne Family Office LLC cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,402,330 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 164,520 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises approximately 15.7% of Duquesne Family Office LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Duquesne Family Office LLC owned 2.52% of Natera worth $481,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $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 worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $1,323,614.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,541 shares in the company, valued at $29,417,799.81. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 792 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total value of $115,663.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,748.76. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,275 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,783. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $3.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $163.42. 562,716 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,547,681. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of -92.85 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $153.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.62. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

About Natera

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.