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

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.03, for a total transaction of $4,740,785.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,906,790.29. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $506.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $395.00 and a 12 month high of $609.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $540.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. Weiss Ratings cut United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 55,526.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,288,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,036,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,229,108 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,868,735,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,189,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,711 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $450,140,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $293,418,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: United Therapeutics entered a $477.6 million accelerated share repurchase agreement, representing the remainder of its previously authorized $2.0 billion buyback. The program should reduce shares outstanding and increase remaining shareholders’ ownership and per-share earnings. United Therapeutics Corporation Announces Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement for Remainder of $2.0 Billion Authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 11 Buy ratings and two Holds and a reported average price target of $646, well above the stock’s recent trading level. This supports the view that UTHR’s pulmonary arterial hypertension franchise and pipeline retain meaningful value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference and the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference. The supplied reports do not identify a major new announcement, guidance change, or clinical update, so the presentations appear unlikely to create a significant near-term catalyst. Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt disclosed sales of 9,500 UTHR shares for approximately $4.74 million at an average price of $499.03. A separate report describes another 9,500-share sale for about $4.65 million at $489.20. Each transaction reduced her direct ownership by 2.84%; while such sales may be personal or scheduled, repeated insider selling can weigh on sentiment. United Therapeutics Executive Share Sale
• Negative Sentiment: The latest quarterly results were mixed: earnings per share exceeded estimates, but revenue of $783.3 million missed expectations of $804.65 million and declined 1.9% year over year. The stock also remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating continued technical pressure.

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.