United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price was down 4.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $353.02 and last traded at $354.44. Approximately 148,268 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 271,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on UTHR. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 5.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $365.77 and its 200 day moving average is $356.81.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,134.22. This represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $192,081.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,115.25. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,048 shares of company stock worth $56,142,199. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,613 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 10.2% during 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 last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $3,471,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 594 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.