King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 3,844 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,844 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Natera by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 11,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 4,082.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,821 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in Natera by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,846 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $497,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Natera by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,009 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $127.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.43. The company has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of -40.96 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $132.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total value of $4,053,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,063,243.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total value of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,315.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total value of $4,053,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 213,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,281 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.