Insider Selling: Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells 13,685 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $2,269,930.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,121,691.28. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41.
• On Friday, November 15th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $2.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.24. 1,123,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,398,269. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.68 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.00 and a beta of 1.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $167.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Natera by 35.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 264,801 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 69,523 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Natera by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,257 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,926,000 after buying an additional 7,132 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Natera by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,929 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.