Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Insider John Fesko Sells 669 Shares

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Natera Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Natera stock traded down $2.75 on Thursday, hitting $159.64. 519,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,329,178. The company has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a PE ratio of -90.70 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.56. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.53 and a 12-month high of $175.63. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 32.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.67.

About Natera

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.