Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 13.7%, selling 413,656 shares, which now constitutes about 2.1% of their total portfolio.
• Institutional ownership of Natera is extremely high, with 99.90% of the stock held by large investors, such as Price T. Rowe Associates, which increased its position by 56.3%.
• Natera reported a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year despite posting a loss in earnings per share (EPS), which missed analysts' expectations.

Fred Alger Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,604,160 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 413,656 shares during the period. Natera comprises about 2.1% of Fred Alger Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 1.93% of Natera worth $368,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Natera by 30.8% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Natera by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 141,106 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,954,000 after buying an additional 27,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $719,480.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,358,628.48. This represents a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,423 shares of company stock worth $8,459,656. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Natera and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.00.

Natera Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.76. 691,356 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,467,711. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.27 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.35 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $155.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.09.

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