Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Sells 7,668 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roy Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total value of $1,710,577.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded up $5.08 on Friday, hitting $230.63. 2,870,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,609,609. The company’s fifty day moving average is $186.27 and its 200 day moving average is $167.81. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $235.89. The company has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of -100.71 and a beta of 1.75.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Natera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $32,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Natera from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

Natera Company 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.