Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roy Baynes Sells 7,668 Shares of Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Roy Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total value of $1,710,577.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $5.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,870,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,609,609. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of -100.71 and a beta of 1.75. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.38 and a 52 week high of $235.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.81.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Natera by 179.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 251,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,619,000 after acquiring an additional 161,672 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Natera by 30.8% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Natera by 4.8% in the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 127,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,985,000 after purchasing an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at $701,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 43,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,165,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.