First Light Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

First Light Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,088 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 91,851 shares during the period. Natera makes up 1.4% of First Light Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. First Light Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Natera worth $14,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in Natera by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in Natera by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.60, for a total value of $333,067.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,979,822.60. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 174,080 shares of company stock worth $26,473,363. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NTRA. Barclays dropped their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.76.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock traded down $3.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $150.93. The company had a trading volume of 985,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,986. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.06 and a 200 day moving average of $153.86. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $92.01 and a one year high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of -85.76 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

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.