Beaconlight Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Beaconlight Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,496 shares during the period. Natera accounts for approximately 3.9% of Beaconlight Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Beaconlight Capital LLC owned 0.06% of Natera worth $9,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Natera by 22.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 669,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $61,276,000 after buying an additional 121,809 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 458.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,866 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 12,202 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $707,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $168.09. The stock had a trading volume of 64,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.88 and a 1 year high of $171.95. The stock has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.64 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.08.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total value of $333,755.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,481.92. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on 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.