Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 9,500 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 United Therapeutics shares at an average price of $548.95, generating proceeds of approximately $5.2 million and reducing her stake by 2.84%.
• United Therapeutics shares fell 2.2% to $532.78, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $7.27 per share exceeded analyst estimates, despite revenue declining 1.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $627.31; institutional investors own 94.08% of the stock.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.95, for a total transaction of $5,215,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,102,984.85. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $12.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $532.78. 1,435,280 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 553,496. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $409.07 and a 12-month high of $609.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $511.23 and a 200 day moving average of $539.87.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 50 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 426.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $81,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $677.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $627.31.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other serious cardiopulmonary conditions. The company's products include Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable form of treprostinil; Orenitram, an oral treprostinil product; and Adcirca, a tadalafil-based PAH treatment.

United Therapeutics markets its therapies primarily in the United States and internationally through commercial and regulatory activities in additional markets.

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