United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $646.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.61, for a total transaction of $5,202,295.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $22,185,323.93. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.28, for a total transaction of $5,462,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,311,581.28. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 424,075 shares of company stock worth $227,683,710. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Amundi grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 219,094 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,712,000 after buying an additional 71,495 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 55,526.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,288,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,036,953,000 after acquiring an additional 33,229,108 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,751 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 82.8% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 2,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $836,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock opened at $516.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $531.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $538.56. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $302.19 and a one year high of $609.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.59.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $783.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $804.65 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 26.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.