Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells $502,369.88 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.46, for a total value of $502,369.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,674,780.80. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, October 30th, Michael Brophy sold 1,906 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.55, for a total transaction of $811,098.30.
• On Wednesday, October 28th, Michael Brophy sold 1,198 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.34, for a total value of $510,755.32.
• On Tuesday, October 27th, Michael Brophy sold 781 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.00, for a total transaction of $317,086.00.
• On Tuesday, August 4th, Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $414.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of -304.63 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $377.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.44. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.00 and a twelve month high of $437.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.74) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. Citigroup increased their price target on Natera from $365.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Natera from $375.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Natera from $340.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.31.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.