Fred Alger Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,012,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,250,664 shares during the period. Natera accounts for 2.5% of Fred Alger Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 3.24% of Natera worth $509,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 13.6% in 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 buying an additional 532,874 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Natera by 25.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 14.6% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $132,197,000 after purchasing an additional 155,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 0.1 %

Natera stock opened at $168.45 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $53.88 and a one year high of $171.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.71 and a 200 day moving average of $119.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a PE ratio of -95.71 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,481.92. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,445.92. This represents a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.