KBC Group NV Reduces Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

KBC Group NV reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 43.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,607 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 11,944 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Natera were worth $2,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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 research note on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total transaction of $1,047,698.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 185,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,795,818.20. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total value of $471,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 133,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,272 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,368. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $3.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $158.69. 747,920 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,356. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.95 and a beta of 1.73. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $92.14 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company's revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share 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.