Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,118 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,836 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $6,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Natera by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total value of $809,294.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 114,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,143,190.08. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,394 shares of company stock valued at $52,333,520 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $172.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.84 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.47. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current 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.