American Trust Trims Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

American Trust lowered its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Natera were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $131.11 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $132.01. The firm has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of -42.02 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,496 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $613,683.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,209,089.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,496 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total transaction of $613,683.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,209,089.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,738 shares of company stock worth $5,663,574 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.07.

Natera Company 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.