Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Cinctive Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 72.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,731 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,147 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Natera were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $103,783,000 after buying an additional 334,630 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 311.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $44,036,000 after buying an additional 307,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 36.1% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,145,362 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $124,031,000 after acquiring an additional 303,905 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $4.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $169.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,046,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,339,335. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.56 and a 12-month high of $175.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.34 and a 200-day moving average of $121.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,224,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,135,977.44. The trade was a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,976 shares of company stock worth $21,119,238 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.59.

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.