Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Insider Sells $203,703.18 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) insider John Fesko sold 782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.49, for a total transaction of $203,703.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 185,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,190,650. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

John Fesko also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 28th, John Fesko sold 931 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.07, for a total transaction of $236,539.17.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total transaction of $291,683.92.
• On Friday, May 1st, John Fesko sold 291 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $59,992.56.

Natera Trading Down 0.7%

NTRA stock opened at $267.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a PE ratio of -164.27 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $288.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 132.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Natera

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.