Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 768,062 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 893,203 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.58% of Natera worth $121,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 7.4% during the third 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. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,040,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $143.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.36 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.15 and a 200-day moving average of $151.29.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total value of $162,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,474 shares in the company, valued at $18,827,338.52. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 318,922 shares of company stock worth $50,619,104 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company 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.