HC Wainwright Issues Pessimistic Estimate for UTHR Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright slightly lowered its FY2030 EPS estimate for United Therapeutics to $47.08 from $47.58, while keeping a Buy rating and $660 price target.
• United Therapeutics reported Q1 earnings of $5.82 per share, missing the $7.00 consensus, on $781.5 million in revenue, also below expectations and down 1.6% year over year.
• Despite the softer quarterly results, Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with 11 Buy ratings, 2 Holds, and an average target price of $619.42; the stock was down about 0.6% in Friday trading.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) - Investment analysts at HC Wainwright decreased their FY2030 earnings per share estimates for shares of United Therapeutics in a research report issued on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright analyst A. Fein now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of $47.08 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $47.58. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $660.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for United Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is $27.64 per share.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.63 earnings per share.

UTHR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on United Therapeutics from $707.00 to $701.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted 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, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $619.42.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $575.79 on Friday. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $272.12 and a 52 week high of $609.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $556.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $506.65. The company has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.13, for a total transaction of $6,817,557.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total transaction of $5,274,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,956,712.48. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 511,413 shares of company stock worth $283,666,212 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation NASDAQ: UTHR is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company's primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.

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