Barclays PLC Reduces Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,115 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 161,750 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.11% of Natera worth $17,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,442 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 50.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,622 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,166,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 39.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 517,941 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,088,000 after acquiring an additional 146,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $550,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,085,255.95. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,987 shares of company stock valued at $21,895,591 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $166.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.22 and a 1-year high of $175.63. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.63 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.02 and a 200-day moving average of $124.56.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.