Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roelof Botha Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $17,709,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,154,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,529,231.76. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Natera Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $237.12 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.38 and a 52 week high of $241.28. The stock has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of -103.55 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,141,594,000 after acquiring an additional 282,826 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after buying an additional 1,003,129 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Natera by 56.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,490,144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,315 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after purchasing an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTRA. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.88.

About Natera

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.