Beaconlight Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Beaconlight Capital LLC reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,496 shares during the quarter. Natera makes up about 3.9% of Beaconlight Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Beaconlight Capital LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $9,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Natera by 34.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,085,255.95. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 0.1 %

NTRA traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.09. The company had a trading volume of 64,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,409. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.08. The stock has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.64 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.88 and a 52 week high of $171.95.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 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.