PDT Partners LLC Sells 3,377 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

PDT Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,655 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,377 shares during the quarter. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $4,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at about $385,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $144,958,000 after buying an additional 328,375 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 22,450 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,850,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,012,498 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $128,537,000 after acquiring an additional 28,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 182,621 shares of company stock valued at $27,727,077. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 3.5 %

NTRA stock traded up $5.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.66. 1,072,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,188. The firm's 50 day moving average is $146.93 and its 200 day moving average is $154.18. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.01 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.76.

Natera 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.