AGF Management Ltd. Sells 557,463 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

AGF Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 82.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 557,463 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $18,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,140,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $144,734,000 after purchasing an additional 245,505 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.56.

Natera Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $140.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.56 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.16.

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

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 294,946 shares of company stock worth $47,212,702 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.