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

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total value of $614,329.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,295 shares in the company, valued at $13,788,758.20. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $464,594.94.
• On Monday, July 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 782 shares of Natera stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $64,528.08.

Natera Stock Up 6.2%

Natera stock opened at $269.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of -165.44 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.90. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $288.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Natera from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Coatue Management LLC raised its stake in Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $330 and maintained a “buy” rating, while the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $267.83. Analyst and Natera market coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership and recent buying provide additional support. Major investors including Coatue Management, Wellington Management, Norges Bank, JPMorgan and AQR Capital Management increased their positions; institutions collectively own approximately 99.9% of the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 5,064 shares worth about $1.28 million, while CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,770 shares for roughly $1.48 million. Because the sales were pre-arranged and intended to satisfy tax-withholding obligations, they are less likely to signal reduced management confidence. CFO SEC filing CEO SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders John Fesko and Solomon Moshkevich also sold shares under similar tax-related plans, while retaining sizable positions. Fesko’s latest sale involved 782 shares worth approximately $203,700. Fesko SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of insider selling could create modest short-term selling pressure and may prompt valuation concerns. Natera also trades at a high valuation relative to its earnings profile, with a negative trailing price-to-earnings ratio, although no new operational warning accompanied the filings.

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.