Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 78,553 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, November 15th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48.
• On Monday, October 28th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,960 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $468,111.60.

Natera Trading Down 2.5 %

NTRA stock opened at $167.61 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.96 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a PE ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Natera by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 16,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.