Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells 22,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Michael Benkowitz, the COO of United Therapeutics, sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock for $10.13 million on October 6, at an average price of $450.24 per share.
• The company's stock price has seen significant fluctuation, with a recent trading high of $456.84 and a 52-week low of $266.98.
• United Therapeutics reported earnings per share of $6.41 for the last quarter, which was below expectations of $6.80, and their revenue of $798.60 million also missed projections.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.24, for a total transaction of $10,130,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 29th, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.80, for a total value of $9,490,500.00.
• On Monday, September 22nd, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.35, for a total value of $9,367,875.00.
• On Monday, September 15th, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.56, for a total transaction of $9,012,600.00.
• On Monday, September 8th, Michael Benkowitz sold 5,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.21, for a total transaction of $1,961,050.00.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, Michael Benkowitz sold 11,375 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.41, for a total transaction of $4,520,538.75.
• On Tuesday, September 2nd, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.64, for a total transaction of $9,396,900.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $3.56 on Tuesday, hitting $456.84. The stock had a trading volume of 610,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,415. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $459.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $359.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.03. The stock has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.66.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The business had revenue of $798.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $569.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,374,001,000 after buying an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 364,713 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% during the second 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 raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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