Jefferies Financial Group Boosts United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Price Target to $432.00

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $315.00 to $432.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.54% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on UTHR. UBS Group raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.17.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded up $5.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $358.40. 119,555 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,540. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $366.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $339.19 and a 200 day moving average of $292.07. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The company’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.24 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,350.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total value of $8,084,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,597.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 107,322 shares of company stock worth $35,403,906. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $3,471,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 19,916 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,332,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 10.2% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Impact Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.