Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells $12,514,804.80 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, January 29th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $2,269,930.95.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $140.66 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.09. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.13 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.92 and a beta of 1.80. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.56.

Natera Company Profile

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.