Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells $64,528.08 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $64,528.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,744.48. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 Monday, May 4th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80.
• On Monday, April 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,993 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $406,851.02.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 785 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $160,242.05.

Natera Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NTRA opened at $219.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of -143.67 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $202.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.02. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $696.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.10 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.50) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. William Blair began coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Natera by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Natera by 68.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Natera by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $558,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

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.