Jennison Associates LLC Cuts Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 398,720 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 365,336 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.29% of Natera worth $56,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Natera by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Natera in the 1st quarter valued at $6,753,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Down 3.1%

NTRA stock traded down $4.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.90. 1,384,580 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,415,107. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.49 and a beta of 1.73. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NTRA. Barclays lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $719,480.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,358,628.48. This represents a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.77, for a total value of $500,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 130,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,714,287.85. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,272 shares of company stock worth $8,345,368 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.