Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,952 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,101,000 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $426,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its stake in Natera by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 3,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $633,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,101,319.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,684 shares in the company, valued at $23,208,639.48. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Stock Down 3.5 %

NTRA opened at $133.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.23. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

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.