Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Position Lifted by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 13.7% in the first quarter, now owning 2,035,979 shares valued at approximately $287.9 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also boosted their stakes in Natera, with ownerships of 12.39 million shares and 7.36 million shares, respectively.
• Natera reported a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year, but missed analysts' earnings expectations with an EPS of ($0.74).

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 245,719 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.51% of Natera worth $287,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Natera by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 96,136 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,218,000 after buying an additional 39,340 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth $248,000. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,769 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth $548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares in the company, valued at $8,990,082. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $719,480.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,358,628.48. The trade was a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock valued at $9,227,972 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded up $4.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.02. 1,502,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,693,905. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.75. The company has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of -85.35 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.57 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.