Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 1,590 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $373,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 219,150 shares in the company, valued at $51,500,250. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 71,932 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $16,885,317.68.
• On Friday, January 2nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,848 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.08, for a total transaction of $881,499.84.
• On Monday, December 1st, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,400 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.07, for a total transaction of $1,047,508.00.
• On Monday, November 3rd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 160,703 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.96, for a total transaction of $32,134,171.88.
• On Tuesday, October 28th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,680 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.46, for a total transaction of $704,572.80.
• On Monday, October 27th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 2,335 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.32, for a total transaction of $449,067.20.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $242.91. 971,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,311. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.07 and a beta of 1.62. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $256.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $233.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.60.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The firm had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Natera

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.