Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares on Dec. 10 at an average price of $480.05 for a total of $1,920,200, leaving her with 130 shares — a 96.85% reduction in her reported stake.
• The stock traded up about 1.8% to $484.86 that day; United Therapeutics has a market cap near $20.9B, a 52‑week range of $266.98–$492.62, and 50/200‑day moving averages of $455.16 and $371.12.
• United Therapeutics beat EPS estimates in the last quarter ($7.16 vs. $6.89) despite a slight revenue miss, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target around $505.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.05, for a total transaction of $1,920,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,406.50. This trade represents a 96.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $8.50 on Wednesday, hitting $484.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,435. The firm has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.86. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $492.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $455.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.12.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $799.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 40.65%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $362,876,000 after buying an additional 364,713 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $317,617,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $205,695,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $192,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $587.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 price objective on United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.