Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells 313 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $64,528.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,744.48. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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.

Michael Burkes Brophy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 4th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total transaction of $101,456.18.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $594,781.80.
• On Monday, April 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,993 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total transaction of $406,851.02.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 785 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $160,242.05.

Natera Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Natera stock traded down $4.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $206.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,065,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,366. The firm has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.14 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $201.91 and its 200 day moving average is $214.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in shares of Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 132.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

About Natera

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.