Empowered Funds LLC Sells 9,708 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its Natera stake by 65.9% in the first quarter, selling 9,708 shares and retaining 5,016 shares valued at approximately $1.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.9% of Natera.
• Natera reported a strong quarter, with revenue rising 37.7% year over year to $752.8 million and a per-share loss of $0.47, beating analyst expectations. Management also raised its 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $2.9 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $299.65, although Natera remains unprofitable and its high valuation could increase downside risk if growth slows.

Empowered Funds LLC cut its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 65.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,016 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 9,708 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 132.9% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $299.65.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 129,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $322.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $46.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -236.84 and a beta of 1.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $254.03 and its 200-day moving average is $223.73. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.38 and a 1-year high of $323.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.82% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

More Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue significantly exceeded expectations. Natera generated $752.8 million in second-quarter revenue, up 37.7% year over year and well above the $661.2 million analyst consensus. Gross margin also improved to 64.5% from 63.4% a year earlier. Natera Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly loss narrowed. Natera reported a loss of $0.47 per share, compared with a $0.74-per-share loss in the prior-year quarter, and better than the $0.49 loss expected by analysts. The result suggests continued operating improvement despite the company remaining unprofitable. Natera Reports Q2 Loss and Beats Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $2.9 billion, above the roughly $2.8 billion consensus estimate. The higher guidance points to sustained momentum across Natera’s reproductive health, oncology, and transplant-testing businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on NTRA from $315 to $360 and maintained an “overweight” rating, signaling that the bank sees additional upside after the earnings beat. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Natera submitted its Signatera bladder-cancer test to Japan’s PMDA for approval as a companion diagnostic. Clearance could expand the company’s international oncology market and create another source of long-term growth. Natera Submits Signatera to Japan’s PMDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Because the sales were relatively small compared with their remaining holdings and were not discretionary open-market disposals, they provide limited negative information.
• Negative Sentiment: Natera remains unprofitable, and its very high valuation leaves the shares vulnerable to profit-taking if growth slows or future results fail to exceed elevated expectations. Commentary identifying NTRA as entering a potential profit-taking zone highlights this near-term risk. IBD 50 Stock Natera Profit-Taking Zone

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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