Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells 325 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Natera CFO Michael Brophy sold 325 shares at an average of $399.99, worth about $130,000, leaving him with 46,249 shares. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• Natera’s latest reported quarter showed revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year, and an adjusted loss of $0.47 per share—slightly better than analysts’ expectations.
• Shares were cited at $391.03, while analysts’ consensus price target was $394.31 and the consensus rating was “Moderate Buy.”

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) CFO Michael Brophy sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.99, for a total value of $129,996.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 46,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,499,137.51. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

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

• On Tuesday, November 3rd, Michael Brophy sold 470 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.49, for a total transaction of $184,000.30.
• On Wednesday, October 28th, Michael Brophy sold 1,178 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.46, for a total value of $502,369.88.
• On Friday, October 30th, Michael Brophy sold 1,906 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.55, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $510,755.32.
• On Tuesday, October 27th, Michael Brophy sold 781 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.00, for a total value of $317,086.00.

Natera Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Natera stock traded up $2.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $391.03. 2,799,993 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,672,252. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.00 and a 1-year high of $437.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $380.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.64.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.74) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $2,962,770,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Natera by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,191,732 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $238,334,000 after buying an additional 11,793 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Natera by 24.1% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,315,000 after buying an additional 227,605 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 10.7% during the 2nd 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 valued at $226,220,000 after buying an additional 80,440 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $199,960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Medicare coverage for Signatera in HCC could improve patient access and support adoption of Natera’s cancer-monitoring tests. The coverage milestone adds to the commercial opportunity for its oncology business. Natera Medicare coverage for Signatera in HCC
• Positive Sentiment: New ESMO oncology evidence was described as broadening the case for Natera’s cancer-testing portfolio, potentially reinforcing the longer-term growth story. ESMO data broaden Natera’s oncology case
• Neutral Sentiment: Natera was expected to report earnings on November 5, making results and management’s outlook a near-term catalyst; the preview article did not provide reported results. Natera earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported analyst consensus price target was $394.31, close to the share price cited in the provided market background, suggesting limited implied upside from that target alone. Natera consensus target price
• 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 size of the sale may temper its significance as a signal about management’s outlook. CFO share sale report

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Natera from $350.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $365.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Stephens upped their target price on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Natera from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.31.

About Natera

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.

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