Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $15.40 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 31,424 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.12% of Natera worth $15,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Natera by 3.2% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its position in Natera by 9.6% in the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Natera by 6.0% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total value of $4,053,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,063,243.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,324,409.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,281. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $123.08 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $132.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of -39.45 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.97) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS 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.