D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 90.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 806,333 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,479,527 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Natera worth $127,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 923,045 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $146,118,000 after buying an additional 40,316 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 2,354 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 102,303 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,195,000 after purchasing an additional 35,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total transaction of $606,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total value of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.44. The stock had a trading volume of 493,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,477. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.15. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a PE ratio of -86.05 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.