Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Insider Sells 3,000 Shares

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.73, for a total value of $962,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 126,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,418,073.87. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.

Solomon Moshkevich also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80.
• On Tuesday, July 28th, Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,204 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.07, for a total transaction of $305,900.28.
• On Monday, July 27th, Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,010 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.49, for a total transaction of $263,094.90.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total transaction of $818,700.00.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded up $2.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $327.67. 708,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,439,570. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.43 and a 1 year high of $343.18. The firm has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -240.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $291.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.00.

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, beating 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 net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. Eagle Health Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,302,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Natera by 3,373.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,253 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 10,929 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.38.

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.