Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management trimmed its stake in Natera by 32.0% in Q4, leaving it with 14,130 shares valued at about $3,237,000.
• Company insiders, including the CEO and CFO, sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding, totaling 49,770 shares worth approximately $10,522,129 over the past three months.
• Wall Street is mostly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average target of $253.47, and Natera recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates while shares trade around $207 (52-week range $131.81–$256.36).

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,130 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,657 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 6.6% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 68.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Natera by 8.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,291 shares in the company, valued at $11,293,298.34. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 150,769 shares in the company, valued at $30,777,983.66. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 49,770 shares of company stock valued at $10,522,129 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $207.28 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $202.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.32. The company has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.48 and a beta of 1.57.

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

About Natera

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.