Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells $502,369.88 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.46, for a total value of $502,369.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,674,780.80. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Tuesday, November 3rd, Michael Brophy sold 470 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.49, for a total transaction of $184,000.30.
• On Monday, November 2nd, Michael Brophy sold 325 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $399.99, for a total transaction of $129,996.75.
• On Friday, October 30th, Michael Brophy sold 1,906 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.55, for a total transaction of $811,098.30.
• On Wednesday, October 28th, Michael Brophy sold 1,198 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.34, for a total transaction of $510,755.32.
• On Tuesday, October 27th, Michael Brophy sold 781 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.00, for a total value of $317,086.00.
• On Tuesday, August 4th, Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $391.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $380.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.64. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.00 and a 52-week high of $437.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $375.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $355.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Medicare coverage for Signatera in HCC could improve patient access and support adoption of Natera’s cancer-monitoring tests. The coverage milestone adds to the commercial opportunity for its oncology business. Natera Medicare coverage for Signatera in HCC
• Positive Sentiment: New ESMO oncology evidence was described as broadening the case for Natera’s cancer-testing portfolio, potentially reinforcing the longer-term growth story. ESMO data broaden Natera’s oncology case
• Neutral Sentiment: Natera was expected to report earnings on November 5, making results and management’s outlook a near-term catalyst; the preview article did not provide reported results. Natera earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported analyst consensus price target was $394.31, close to the share price cited in the provided market background, suggesting limited implied upside from that target alone. Natera consensus target price
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and retained 48,480 shares. The scheduled nature and relatively small size of the sale may temper its significance as a signal about management’s outlook. CFO share sale report

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.