United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

UTHR has been the topic of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1 %

United Therapeutics stock opened at $319.96 on Thursday. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $359.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $360.46.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total transaction of $2,882,649.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,278,893 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

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.