Huntington National Bank Sells 145 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Huntington National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 26.2% 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 408 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Natera were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $138.26 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.13 and a 12-month high of $183.00. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $156.27 and its 200-day moving average is $151.65. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.56 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,277,837.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,091,435.05. This represents a 19.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664 over the last 90 days. Company 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.