Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Sells $978,693.06 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,695,784.62. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, March 5th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of Natera stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $2,269,930.95.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41.

Natera Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $151.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.50. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.