Brokerages Set United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Target Price at $382.08

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $388.25.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UTHR. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7 %

UTHR opened at $361.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $362.68 and a 200-day moving average of $360.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $214.75 and a 12-month high of $417.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total transaction of $3,727,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $960,576.75. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total value 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 represents a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,398,793 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Milestone Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after purchasing an additional 50,291 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.