First Hawaiian Bank Trims Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,009 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $176.61 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.80 and a 1 year high of $177.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.05. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -100.35 and a beta of 1.65. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.67.

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.