LVW Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

LVW Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,114 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.98 and a beta of 1.65. 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 $62.96 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.49 and a 200-day moving average of $134.77.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.09, for a total value of $59,068.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,850,054.26. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,960 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $468,111.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,762 shares in the company, valued at $22,431,766.02. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,836 shares of company stock valued at $19,735,092 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.