Portolan Capital Management LLC Sells 45,086 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,594 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 45,086 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $6,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $2,894,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth $256,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $148.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.11 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.13 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.66 and its 200-day moving average is $152.24.

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NTRA. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total value of $563,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,366,129.12. This represents a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.