United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09, RTT News reports. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.36 EPS.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock opened at $318.00 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $361.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.81. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total transaction of $2,882,649.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,122.70. This represents a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total transaction of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,950.62. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,278,893. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy 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 price target of $388.25.

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.