Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock: Insider Michael Burkes Brophy Sells 1,178 Shares

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.46, for a total value of $502,369.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 48,480 shares in the company, valued at $20,674,780.80. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, October 30th, Michael Brophy sold 1,906 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.55, for a total value of $811,098.30.
• On Wednesday, October 28th, Michael Brophy sold 1,198 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.34, for a total value of $510,755.32.
• On Tuesday, October 27th, Michael Brophy sold 781 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.00, for a total value of $317,086.00.
• On Tuesday, August 4th, Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16.

Natera Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $388.63 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.00 and a 12 month high of $437.41. The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a PE ratio of -285.76 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $379.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.89.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,962,770,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,191,732 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $238,334,000 after acquiring an additional 11,793 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,315,000 after acquiring an additional 227,605 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 10.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 833,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $226,220,000 after acquiring an additional 80,440 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $199,960,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $360.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Natera from $340.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Natera from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.31.

Key Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fresh evidence presented at the ESMO oncology meeting may strengthen Natera’s case for growth in cancer testing, broadening the potential opportunity for its oncology business. ESMO oncology data article
• Neutral Sentiment: Natera is due to report earnings on November 5, making results and management’s outlook a near-term catalyst. The report preview highlights investor expectations, but the supplied article details do not provide specific estimates. Earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus target is $394.31, close to the share price cited in the market update, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating. That suggests limited implied upside at that reference price, despite generally favorable ratings. Analyst target article
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and retained 48,480 shares. The scheduled nature and relatively small reduction make the sale less clear as a signal about the company’s outlook. Insider sale article
• Negative Sentiment: Reports described a steep recent share-price drop, indicating selling pressure and heightened investor caution ahead of earnings. The pullback may reflect elevated expectations or uncertainty about the results, though the headlines provided do not identify a specific cause. After-hours decline report

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.