Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 6,702 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,695,784.62. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Steven Leonard Chapman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 5th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $2,269,930.95.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock traded up $4.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.87. 2,162,925 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,349,026. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.27. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.72 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.