United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $483.61 and last traded at $482.84, with a volume of 183601 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $471.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.90.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.3%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $433.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.26. The firm has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.77.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 40.65%.The firm had revenue of $799.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.07, for a total transaction of $10,171,575.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.76, for a total transaction of $5,112,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,094,337.56. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 471,435 shares of company stock valued at $200,294,552. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,126 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.9% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.