Natera, Inc. $NTRA Holdings Boosted by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 19.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,033 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,525,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 30.1% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 3,063 shares in the last quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.0% during the second quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 124,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,610 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Natera by 24.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 141,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,954,000 after purchasing an additional 27,379 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Natera by 788.3% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 7,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Natera from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total value of $1,710,577.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.60, for a total transaction of $595,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,255,314.60. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 236,116 shares of company stock valued at $45,800,290 over the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $230.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.71 and a beta of 1.75. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $235.89.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The company had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.