Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy Sells 2,419 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total value of $614,329.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,788,758.20. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

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

• On Wednesday, July 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,863 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $464,594.94.
• On Monday, July 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 782 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.49, for a total value of $203,703.18.
• On Monday, May 4th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18.
• On Friday, May 1st, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $64,528.08.

Natera Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NTRA opened at $253.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.16 and its 200 day moving average is $221.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $288.04. The company has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a PE ratio of -155.72 and a beta of 1.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Family Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Natera during the second quarter valued at $210,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 207,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,407,000 after buying an additional 46,800 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $254,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,936,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Most notably, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 5,064 shares for approximately $1.28 million, while CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,770 shares for about $1.48 million. Both executives cited pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and said the sales were made to cover tax-withholding obligations related to vested equity awards, reducing the likelihood that the transactions signal a loss of confidence. CFO SEC filing CEO SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders John Fesko and Solomon Moshkevich also sold a combined 3,927 shares worth approximately $1.01 million under similar pre-arranged plans to meet tax obligations. They retained substantial holdings after the sales, further limiting the negative interpretation. Fesko SEC filing Moshkevich SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of sales by the CEO, CFO and other insiders may nevertheless create modest short-term selling pressure or raise valuation concerns, particularly because NTRA remains well below its 52-week high and carries a negative trailing price-to-earnings ratio. However, the filings contain no new operational or financial warning.

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.