Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 109,828 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Natera stake by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 109,828 shares and leaving it with 319,498 shares valued at about $73.2 million.
• Natera reported stronger-than-expected revenue in its latest quarter at $696.6 million, up 38.8% year over year, though earnings per share came in below estimates at -$0.60.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish on Natera, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $253.47, even as some analysts have kept mixed views.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 319,498 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 109,828 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Natera worth $73,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Natera by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. William Blair began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.47.

Natera Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $219.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.67 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.02.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.07). Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $696.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.50) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $59,992.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 187,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,597,275.20. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 902 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,896,580.72. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera 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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