Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,548 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,829 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Natera were worth $10,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Natera by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Natera by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 1,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.10, for a total value of $344,520.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 187,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,270,995.10. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 38,266 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,808 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 1.8%

Natera stock opened at $196.04 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of -120.27 and a beta of 1.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.05% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.60.

Natera Profile

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.