Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) CFO Sells 313 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• On May 1 CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of Natera at an average price of $206.16 for $64,528.08 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding, leaving him with 57,978 shares (a 0.54% reduction).
• Those shares were part of a series of recent disposals — Brophy has sold a total of 6,643 shares since March 10, generating roughly $1.33 million in proceeds across multiple transactions.
• Natera shares traded down about 2.3% to $206.77; the company posted an earnings beat last quarter (EPS $0.35 vs. consensus -$0.46, revenue $665.5M vs. $600.7M) and carries a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $253.47.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 313 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $64,528.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,744.48. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 Monday, May 4th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total transaction of $101,456.18.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $594,781.80.
• On Monday, April 27th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,993 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total transaction of $406,851.02.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Michael Burkes Brophy sold 785 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $160,242.05.

Natera Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Natera stock traded down $4.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $206.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,065,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,366. The firm has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.14 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $201.91 and its 200 day moving average is $214.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in shares of Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 132.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.47.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.