Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells $175,348.02 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total transaction of $175,348.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,346,921.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, April 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,238 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total value of $115,307.32.
• On Thursday, April 25th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 705 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total value of $63,132.75.
• On Tuesday, April 23rd, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,523 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $139,171.74.
• On Tuesday, April 2nd, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,378 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $127,630.36.
• On Thursday, March 28th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 914 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $82,643.88.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,826 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.36, for a total value of $249,705.36.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 34,029 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $2,383,050.87.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $96.98 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.56 and a 200-day moving average of $69.67. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of -25.59 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $98.82.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 62.19% and a negative net margin of 40.16%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut Natera from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $83,970,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 115.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,654,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,203,000 after acquiring an additional 887,409 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 52.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,529,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $111,930,000 after acquiring an additional 865,404 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 289.7% in the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 850,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,258,000 after acquiring an additional 632,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,971,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $687,280,000 after acquiring an additional 588,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.