Rowan E. Chapman Sells 1,767 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $300,814.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,828.48. This trade represents a 22.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Natera Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $166.45 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.22 and a 1 year high of $175.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. PointState Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Natera by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after acquiring an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

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.