Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Insider Sells $59,992.56 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider John Fesko sold 291 shares on May 1 at an average price of $206.16 for $59,992.56 under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan to cover tax withholding from vesting, trimming his stake by 0.16% to 187,220 shares (he also sold larger blocks on April 27 and March 10).
• Natera shares traded down about 2.3% to $206.77 (market cap ≈ $29.4B); the company recently reported an EPS beat ($0.35 vs. -$0.46 est.) and stronger revenue, but still shows negative margins, while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $253.47.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) insider John Fesko sold 291 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $59,992.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 187,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,597,275.20. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.

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

• 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 transaction of $344,520.80.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, John Fesko sold 707 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $144,319.91.

Natera Trading Down 2.3%

NTRA traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $206.77. 1,065,445 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,366. The company has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.14 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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