Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,327 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 53,521 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Natera worth $12,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,809,000 after buying an additional 142,201 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.12.

Natera Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ NTRA traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $152.98. 383,095 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,383,656. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of -87.05 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $149.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.11.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total transaction of $335,709.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,195,630.40. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.