Cynosure Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,196 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,809,000 after buying an additional 142,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Natera by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,538,875 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,604,000 after buying an additional 439,540 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $133.87 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.23. The stock has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

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.