Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Gail Boxer Marcus Sells 2,212 Shares

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.06. 2,242,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,689. The company has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.46. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $52.01 and a one year high of $167.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its 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 analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.65.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 50.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.