United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on UTHR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $361.64 on Thursday. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $369.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total value of $192,081.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,384,115.25. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,300. This represents a 52.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,630 shares of company stock valued at $54,371,916. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 42.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,135,000 after acquiring an additional 12,360 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,981 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 585,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $186,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 16.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,918 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,433,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.