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

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $64,528.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,978 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,744.48. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80.
• On Monday, April 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,993 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $406,851.02.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 785 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $160,242.05.

Natera Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $4.79 on Tuesday, reaching $206.77. 1,065,445 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,366. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.51. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.14 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the third quarter worth about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 132.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its holdings in Natera by 103.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRA. Guggenheim raised their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.