NEW YORK – Roelof Botha, lead independent director of Natera's board of directors and partner at Sequoia Capital, made a $5 million share purchase in Natera, the company announced on Wednesday. Natera executives and directors also unanimously agreed earlier this week to take company stock instead of salaries and retainers for the remainder of 2022.
"I have strong confidence in Natera's business and in its strategic and commercial execution capabilities," Botha said in a statement. "My investment today reflects my continued belief in Natera."
Botha's investment comes during a rough patch for Natera's business including a disputed short seller report issued last week accusing the company of deceptive sales and billing practices, and a jury decision handed down late Monday finding Natera liable for false advertising and unfair competition in a case against CareDx.
Despite this decision, investment bank Canaccord Genuity noted in an analyst note that the details of the $44.9 million that the jury awarded to CareDx are still being finalized and that Natera's decision to switch management compensation to 100 percent stock shows a vote of confidence in the company's long-term outlook.
In Wednesday mid-afternoon trading on the Nasdaq shares of Natera were up nearly 9 percent at $32.95.