Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells 478 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, August 3rd, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 317 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total value of $84,952.83.
• On Wednesday, July 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,863 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $464,594.94.
• On Tuesday, July 28th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,419 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total value of $614,329.24.
• On Monday, July 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 782 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.49, for a total transaction of $203,703.18.

Natera Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NTRA traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $274.58. 1,128,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,104,859. The firm has a market cap of $39.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -168.45 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.85. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.75 and a 12-month high of $288.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.83.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at $210,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Natera by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 207,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46,800 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $254,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,936,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company 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.