Savant Capital LLC Sells 23,949 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC sharply reduced its Natera position in the fourth quarter, selling 23,949 shares and leaving it with 1,036 shares valued at about $237,000.
• Insider selling has been active, including CEO Steven Leonard Chapman’s sale of 41,124 shares and insider Solomon Moshkevich’s sale of 3,405 shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Natera, with analysts holding a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $256.12, above the stock’s recent trading level of $215.31.

Savant Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 95.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,036 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 23,949 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $545,624,000 after purchasing an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,078,000 after purchasing an additional 11,689 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $394,663,000 after purchasing an additional 41,303 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% 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 156,530 shares of company stock valued at $33,914,062 over the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $215.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $204.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.13. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.12.

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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