United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 9,500 Shares

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.35, for a total transaction of $4,772,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,983,941.05. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $6.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $497.20. The stock had a trading volume of 359,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,314. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $396.12 and a twelve month high of $609.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $522.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $540.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $804.65 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $277,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 77.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,691,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in United Therapeutics by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective 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 lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $646.00.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for serious and life-threatening conditions, with a primary emphasis on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s products are designed to improve pulmonary blood flow and reduce the effects of this progressive disease.

United Therapeutics’ PAH portfolio includes Remodulin (treprostinil) injection, Orenitram (treprostinil) extended-release tablets, and Tyvaso (treprostinil), which is available as an inhalation solution and as the Tyvaso DPI dry-powder inhaler.