Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 25,328 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 51.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,308 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 25,328 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the third quarter worth $34,096,000. SWS Partners lifted its position in Natera by 11.8% in the third quarter. SWS Partners now owns 47,037 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,572,000 after buying an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Natera by 63.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 148,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after buying an additional 57,400 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Natera by 192.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,614 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $209.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.42 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.63. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $256.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total transaction of $19,680,185.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,881 shares in the company, valued at $29,504,704.32. This trade represents a 40.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $5,447,141.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 144,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,035,422.08. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 368,119 shares of company stock valued at $85,956,782 over the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.