Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 893,203 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 53.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 768,062 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 893,203 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Natera were worth $121,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,457,844.37. This represents a 3.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 318,922 shares of company stock worth $50,619,104. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $143.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.29. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a PE ratio of -81.36 and a beta of 1.80. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

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.