Martine Rothblatt Sells 9,500 Shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.40, for a total transaction of $5,247,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $22,379,381.20. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of UTHR traded down $14.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $536.59. 1,645,718 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 488,354. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $272.12 and a 1 year high of $609.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $565.95 and its 200-day moving average is $522.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

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

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.