Portolan Capital Management LLC Sells 82,897 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 49.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 82,897 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $10,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 257.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after purchasing an additional 469,327 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Natera by 53.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 311.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 307,920 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 36.1% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,145,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,031,000 after purchasing an additional 303,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total value of $333,755.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,481.92. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $169.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.56 and a fifty-two week high of $171.95. The company has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of -96.12 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

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.