Insider Selling: Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Sells $17,184,180.00 in Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Natera Stock Down 3.1%

NTRA opened at $215.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.81 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $204.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Natera by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 95,061 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,011,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,410,000. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,543,000. Finally, Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.