Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Sells 108,875 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 47.5%, selling 108,875 shares and retaining 120,490 shares, which now represents 2.7% of their total investments.
• Despite the trimming by Zweig DiMenna, several hedge funds have increased their positions in Natera, with KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosting its stake by 83.2% in the same period.
• Natera reported quarterly earnings showing a 36.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $501.83 million, and exceeded earnings per share estimates with a loss of ($0.50).

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 47.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,490 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 108,875 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises about 2.7% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Natera worth $17,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Natera by 28.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,340 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Natera during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Black Swift Group LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Black Swift Group LLC now owns 10,750 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Natera by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,728 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Natera by 83.2% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 43,600 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,165,000 after buying an additional 19,800 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,622 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.29, for a total transaction of $225,928.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 175,492 shares in the company, valued at $24,444,280.68. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 291 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.29, for a total transaction of $40,533.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 128,265 shares in the company, valued at $17,866,031.85. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,844 shares of company stock worth $7,488,466 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.98. 594,871 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,492,230. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.59. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.86 and a beta of 1.73.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The business had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.56) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.