Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 802,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 258,637 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $101,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Natera by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 30,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,813,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,778 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,157,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Natera by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 771,962 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $98,001,000 after purchasing an additional 15,710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,552,445.92. This trade represents a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $168.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of -95.64 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.64. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.88 and a 1-year high of $171.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Natera

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.