Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 5,807 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Natera, Inc. CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares on August 1st for a total value of approximately $771,634, reducing his ownership by 3.43% to 163,593 shares.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a net revenue increase of 36.5% year-over-year, with reported revenue of $501.83 million, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Several investment firms have issued varying ratings on Natera, with Evercore ISI upgrading it to a "strong-buy" with a price target of $170.00, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $183.76.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total transaction of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 163,593 shares in the company, valued at $21,738,237.84. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, July 28th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,092 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $851,722.52.
• On Monday, July 21st, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,622 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.29, for a total value of $225,928.38.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,343 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total transaction of $889,769.79.
• On Monday, June 2nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total transaction of $960,038.10.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA traded up $10.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.95. 3,820,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,524,531. The business's 50-day moving average is $155.69 and its 200-day moving average is $155.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.37 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.00 and a twelve month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. Analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 29.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,146 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 99,814 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,863,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $430,640,000 after buying an additional 166,768 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,033 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in Natera during the second quarter worth approximately $418,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natera

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.