Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,620 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,620 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% during 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. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners increased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded up $7.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,125,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,632. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $155.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.99. 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 $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $58.53 and a one year high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS 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.