Michael Burkes Brophy Sells 2,413 Shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.56, for a total transaction of $573,232.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,473,580.56. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, January 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,867 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.40, for a total transaction of $430,156.80.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 784 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.53, for a total transaction of $188,575.52.
• On Wednesday, January 21st, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50.
• On Tuesday, January 20th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 23,948 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $5,621,553.52.

Natera Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Natera stock traded down $4.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $231.48. The company had a trading volume of 947,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,043,018. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.29. The stock has a market cap of $32.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.08 and a beta of 1.62. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.38 and a 12-month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The firm had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.20.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold a total of 5,064 shares across Jan. 27–29 for roughly $1.19M (transactions at ~$240.53, $237.56 and $230.40); his holdings fell by ~3% but he still holds ~59k shares. CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Steven L. Chapman sold 5,970 shares across Jan. 27–28 for roughly $1.43M (avg ~$237–240); his stake decreased ~1–2% and he still owns ~213k shares. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (John Fesko and Solomon Moshkevich) also sold multiple tranches (combined ~3,925 shares, ~ $0.94M), each reducing holdings by under 1%. Fesko Form 4 Moshkevich Form 4

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.