United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $357.50, but opened at $343.53. United Therapeutics shares last traded at $319.43, with a volume of 235,781 shares changing hands.

Specifically, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,678.52. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $360.44 and a 200 day moving average of $360.55. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,935 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,163,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 62.5% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 59,411 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is 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.