LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from $319.00 to $344.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price target points to a potential downside of 8.03% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $374.02 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $355.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18. The company has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $208.62 and a 12-month high of $377.92.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total transaction of $93,722.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,293.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total transaction of $93,722.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,293.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $2,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,300. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,412 shares of company stock worth $33,971,508. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 82.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,422,000 after buying an additional 262,222 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 567.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $150,492,000 after acquiring an additional 152,249 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.