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

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,954 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $5,326,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $73,422.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,937,930.64. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $7.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $153.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,761,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,585. The company's 50-day moving average price is $127.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.76. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.31 and a fifty-two week high of $167.79. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.17 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company's revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.59.

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.