Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 10.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Natera by 8.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Natera by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 93,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $217,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.67.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $159.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.70 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.53 and a 52-week high of $175.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.56.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,932 shares of company stock valued at $21,012,440. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.