Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) is Fred Alger Management LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,012,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,250,664 shares during the quarter. Natera accounts for 2.5% of Fred Alger Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $509,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Natera by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter valued at $70,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,324,409.37. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $168.45 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.88 and a 52 week high of $171.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.77. 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 cap of $22.24 billion, a PE ratio of -95.71 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly 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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.