Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 21,452 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 669,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 21,452 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.49% of Natera worth $113,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,141,594,000 after purchasing an additional 282,826 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Natera by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,490,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,315 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Natera by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,041,055,000 after purchasing an additional 660,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $430,640,000 after buying an additional 166,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $287,908,000 after buying an additional 245,719 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,750 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total transaction of $459,222.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,444.85. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total value of $479,970.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,808,264.41. The trade was a 2.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,336 shares of company stock worth $42,990,633. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.1%

Natera stock opened at $222.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.00 and a 200-day moving average of $166.90. The firm has a market cap of $30.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.70 and a beta of 1.75. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $221.79.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Natera from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.29.

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.