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

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,012,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,250,664 shares during the period. Natera comprises approximately 2.5% of Fred Alger Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 3.24% of Natera worth $509,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.78. The stock had a trading volume of 470,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,640. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.56 and a 1 year high of $171.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.51 and a 200 day moving average of $120.21. 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 company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.33 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) 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, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the company'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 owns 7,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,017,481.92. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.