Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells $419,712.68 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.77, for a total value of $419,712.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,200,731.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Monday, July 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 2,638 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $277,412.08.
• On Monday, July 15th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,496 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $613,683.36.
• On Monday, July 1st, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00.
• On Monday, June 17th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,105 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $681,379.05.
• On Wednesday, May 15th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $725,895.32.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA opened at $99.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.12. The company has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of -31.76 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.59 and a 200-day moving average of $93.38. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $117.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $367.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.23) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 13.0% in the first quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,927,683 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $359,226,000 after acquiring an additional 452,800 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Natera by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,703,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $106,714,000 after acquiring an additional 112,825 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $83,970,000. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in Natera by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 1,110,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $69,530,000 after purchasing an additional 211,000 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.