First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 17.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the first quarter worth about $220,000. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $758,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,821,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Natera by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 669,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,276,000 after buying an additional 121,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Natera by 73.7% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 41,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,552,445.92. The trade was a 49.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Trading Down 1.2 %

Natera stock opened at $167.26 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.62 and a 52-week high of $171.95. The company has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.19 and a beta of 1.53. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

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.