United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Update

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a drop of 25.6% from the February 28th total of 2,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 444,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $339.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $355.62.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total transaction of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,373.07. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About United Therapeutics

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.