Insider Selling: 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 that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.60, for a total value of $5,173,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,063,379.80. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 2.1%

UTHR stock traded down $11.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $535.77. The company had a trading volume of 294,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,523. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $556.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $529.55. The company has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $272.12 and a fifty-two week high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after buying an additional 1,042,711 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $317,617,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $293,418,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,269,803,000 after acquiring an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $387,801,000 after acquiring an additional 341,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

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.