Empowered Funds LLC Invests $5.33 Million in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 41,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,326,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Natera by 6.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,634,000 after buying an additional 148,917 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after buying an additional 45,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after acquiring an additional 246,246 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,090,827.94. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,821 shares of company stock worth $4,776,878. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $146.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.76. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.01 and a 1 year high of $167.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. Analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share 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.