Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Natera Put Options (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 2,463 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 465% compared to the typical daily volume of 436 put options.

Natera Trading Up 0.9 %

NTRA opened at $135.12 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.52. Natera has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $140.00. The company has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.15 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total value of $1,452,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $589,799.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 191,163 shares in the company, valued at $24,927,655.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,464 shares of company stock worth $5,849,977 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Natera by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,047 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 28.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 225,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Natera by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 368,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,744,000 after acquiring an additional 16,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Natera by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Natera from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

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.