United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

UTHR has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer lifted 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, October 31st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $366.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $370.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.77. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,115.25. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. This represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,422 shares of company stock valued at $53,498,732. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $692,748,000 after purchasing an additional 22,978 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,094,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $391,459,000 after acquiring an additional 45,566 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $386,168,000 after acquiring an additional 314,004 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 585,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $186,656,000 after acquiring an additional 22,683 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 566,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $203,078,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.