King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 2,695 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp has decreased its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 17.4%, selling 2,695 shares, which leaves them with 12,781 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• Insider transactions include significant sales by CEO Steven Leonard Chapman and other insiders, totaling over $8.9 million worth of shares sold in the last ninety days.
• Analysts have expressed optimism for Natera with multiple investment firms reaffirming an "overweight" rating and setting price targets ranging from $170.00 to $220.00, despite a recent earnings miss.

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,781 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,695 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Natera were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Natera by 9.8% in the first 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 32.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,753,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $719,480.64. Following the sale, the director owned 8,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,358,628.48. This represents a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total value of $960,038.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,132,054.10. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,239 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,542. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Trading Up 3.0%

Natera stock traded up $4.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 988,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,306. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $155.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.78. The stock has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of -85.48 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.57 and a 52 week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera's revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate 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.