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

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,017,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 994,184 shares during the period. Natera makes up approximately 2.3% of Fred Alger Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 2.29% of Natera worth $477,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Natera by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 434 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $160.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.97 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.88.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total value of $1,047,698.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 185,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,795,818.20. This represents a 3.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.76.

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.