Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Natera by 28.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,929 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at approximately $380,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 119.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 30.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,064 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 305,454 shares of company stock valued at $51,290,625 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ NTRA traded up $2.66 on Friday, hitting $173.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,571,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,396. The stock has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.52 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.03 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $167.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.83.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current 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.