Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells 43,502 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total transaction of $7,694,633.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,492,857.52. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, January 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 4,335 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $719,046.45.
• On Friday, January 31st, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,886 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.60, for a total value of $333,067.60.
• On Monday, January 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,442 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.87, for a total transaction of $233,416.54.
• On Friday, January 24th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total transaction of $162,693.08.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,277,837.07.

Natera Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $177.00 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.78. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of -100.57 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced 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 company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays started coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. West Michigan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Williamson Legacy Group LLC raised its stake in Natera by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $16,113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.