Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Sells 11,417 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 394,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,417 shares during the quarter. Natera accounts for approximately 1.2% of Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC owned 0.29% of Natera worth $63,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 83.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth about $36,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Natera by 1,857.1% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $231.96 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $246.90. The company has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.29 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.89.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $17,709,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,154,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,529,231.76. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 4,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total value of $1,061,374.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at $1,404,388.70. The trade was a 43.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 365,164 shares of company stock valued at $76,621,909. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price target on Natera and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.12.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.