Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 5,623 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $1,147,822.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,968,186.91. This trade represents a 3.47% 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.

Steven Leonard Chapman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,950 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.02, for a total transaction of $790,079.00.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $1,090,388.25.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total value of $19,680,185.28.
• On Wednesday, January 28th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,648 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.66, for a total value of $866,983.68.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 2,322 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.53, for a total value of $558,510.66.
• On Wednesday, January 21st, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,590 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $373,650.00.
• On Tuesday, January 20th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 71,932 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $16,885,317.68.
• On Friday, January 2nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,848 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.08, for a total transaction of $881,499.84.

Natera Stock Down 1.2%

NTRA traded down $2.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.61. 1,404,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,721. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $256.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.32 and its 200 day moving average is $206.07. The firm has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.50 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,096,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Natera by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 148,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 57,400 shares in the last quarter. SWS Partners increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 11.8% in the third quarter. SWS Partners now owns 47,037 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 192.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.47.

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.