Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 6,424,796 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 81.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,440,435 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,424,796 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 1.09% of Natera worth $228,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 20.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.74, for a total transaction of $74,616.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,270.88. The trade was a 0.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,743 shares of company stock valued at $30,558,447 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.76.

Natera Trading Down 0.4 %

NTRA stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.79. The company had a trading volume of 806,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,185. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.71. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.88 and a 12 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. The stock has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.38 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

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.