Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 4,500 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Natera, Inc. by 32.1%, selling 4,500 shares and leaving them with 9,500 shares valued at $1,367,000.
• Natera reported a loss of ($0.74) earnings per share, missing the consensus estimate but achieving revenue of $546.60 million, a 32.2% increase year-over-year.
• Several equity analysts have set new price targets for Natera, with Piper Sandler increasing their target to $220.00, indicating a positive outlook on the stock.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 32.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,500 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Natera were worth $1,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Natera by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,676 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Natera by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $161.95 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $154.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.38. The company has a market cap of $22.23 billion, a PE ratio of -84.79 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.57 and a twelve month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%.The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.30) EPS. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total transaction of $332,392.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,763 shares in the company, valued at $767,458.71. The trade was a 30.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 875 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total transaction of $136,027.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,255,120.14. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock valued at $9,227,972. Insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.19.

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.

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