Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 3,875,910 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 89.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 448,280 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,875,910 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Natera worth $70,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $232,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $403,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 41,648 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.76.

Natera Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $152.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,076,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,960. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of -86.93 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.55 and a 200-day moving average of $153.87. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.88 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.74, for a total value of $74,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 197,301 shares of company stock worth $30,325,031 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.