Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells $1,580,912.37 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,874,499.60. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, January 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,867 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.40, for a total value of $430,156.80.
• On Wednesday, January 28th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,413 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.56, for a total value of $573,232.28.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 784 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.53, for a total transaction of $188,575.52.
• On Wednesday, January 21st, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50.
• On Tuesday, January 20th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 23,948 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $5,621,553.52.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $203.04 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.66 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.18.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The firm had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 44.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,795,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $277,749,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 215.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $84,983,000 after acquiring an additional 360,733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

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.