Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells $978,693.06 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,695,784.62. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, March 5th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80.
• 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 transaction of $2,269,930.95.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41.

Natera Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $151.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $161.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.50.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Natera by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Natera by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after buying an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.