Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 4,030 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 28.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,131 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,030 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 223.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 301 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $978,693.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,695,784.62. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total value of $563,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,366,129.12. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,275 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,783 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $165.34. The stock had a trading volume of 729,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,462. The stock has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.94 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.14 and a 12-month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.56) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.63.

Natera 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.