John Fesko Sells 1,438 Shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Natera insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares on May 26 at an average price of $202.84, totaling about $291,684. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and was to cover tax withholding tied to equity award vesting.
• Recent trading activity: This latest transaction follows several other recent Natera share sales by Fesko in April and May. After the sale, he still directly owned 185,782 shares, valued at about $37.7 million.
• Stock and analyst backdrop: Natera shares recently traded at $213.94, near their 52-week range of $131.81 to $256.36. Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $256.60.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $291,683.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 185,782 shares in the company, valued at $37,684,020.88. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.

John Fesko also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 1st, John Fesko sold 291 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $59,992.56.
• On Monday, April 27th, John Fesko sold 1,688 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.10, for a total value of $344,520.80.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, John Fesko sold 707 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $144,319.91.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA traded up $10.83 on Thursday, hitting $213.94. 1,861,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,650,189. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of -131.25 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 9.05%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its stake in Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 132.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.60.

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.

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