Michael Burkes Brophy Sells 1,867 Shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,867 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.40, for a total transaction of $430,156.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,059 shares in the company, valued at $13,607,193.60. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, January 28th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,413 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.56, for a total value of $573,232.28.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 784 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.53, for a total value of $188,575.52.
• On Wednesday, January 21st, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50.
• On Tuesday, January 20th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 23,948 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $5,621,553.52.

Natera Trading Down 1.9%

Natera stock traded down $4.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $231.48. The company had a trading volume of 947,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,043,018. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a PE ratio of -101.08 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $235.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.29.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Natera News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold a total of 5,064 shares across Jan. 27–29 for roughly $1.19M (transactions at ~$240.53, $237.56 and $230.40); his holdings fell by ~3% but he still holds ~59k shares. CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Steven L. Chapman sold 5,970 shares across Jan. 27–28 for roughly $1.43M (avg ~$237–240); his stake decreased ~1–2% and he still owns ~213k shares. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (John Fesko and Solomon Moshkevich) also sold multiple tranches (combined ~3,925 shares, ~ $0.94M), each reducing holdings by under 1%. Fesko Form 4 Moshkevich Form 4

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRA. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Stephens increased their price target on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Natera by 6.6% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 68.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Natera by 8.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is 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.