Voloridge Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,320 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 66,847 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Natera worth $15,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.12.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $153.32 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.51. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.11 and a beta of 1.79. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.56) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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.