Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 63,059 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,460 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 63,059 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.28% of Natera worth $58,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $4.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.87. The company had a trading volume of 3,247,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,854. The company has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $156.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.40.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. As a group, research analysts expect 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.