Natera, Inc. $NTRA Stake Cut by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Natera stake by 0.7% in Q4 to 12,306,424 shares, still owning 8.90% of the company worth about $2.82 billion.
• Natera beat recent quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.35 (vs. -$0.46 est.) and revenue of $665.5M (vs. $600.7M est.), though the company remains unprofitable on net margin and has a negative PE.
• Analysts are generally positive—Natera has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $253.47, backed by multiple buy/outperform upgrades.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,306,424 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 82,609 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.90% of Natera worth $2,819,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $46,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised Natera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Natera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $200.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a PE ratio of -130.95 and a beta of 1.68. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $202.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.94.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.85, for a total transaction of $599,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 150,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,982,096.55. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,120 shares in the company, valued at $11,874,499.60. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 125,165 shares of company stock valued at $28,343,522 over the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

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