Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,744 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,515 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $2,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Natera by 372.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRA. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $168.94. 1,058,630 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,306. The company has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -114.92 and a beta of 1.74. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $159.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.49.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.56) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total transaction of $960,038.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 179,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,132,054.10. This trade represents a 3.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total transaction of $471,210.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 133,205 shares in the company, valued at $20,922,509.35. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,630 shares of company stock worth $7,220,368 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.