Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 2,815,811 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 77.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 812,941 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,815,811 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.68% of Natera worth $50,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 720,160 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,111,000 after purchasing an additional 159,993 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1,043.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 90,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,664,000 after buying an additional 82,514 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 145,996 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,058,000 after buying an additional 73,419 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 90,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP increased its stake in shares of Natera by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 65,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 8,997 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $7,265,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,560 shares in the company, valued at $10,676,799.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $7,265,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,560 shares in the company, valued at $10,676,799.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.22, for a total value of $40,328.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 347,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,372,290.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,988 shares of company stock valued at $17,799,622. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Natera in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.19.

Natera Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $107.99 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.33. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $117.23. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.23) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company Profile

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.