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

Key Points

• Michael Benkowitz, COO of United Therapeutics, sold 22,500 shares of stock on October 13th for approximately $9.9 million at an average price of $440.35 per share, marking a series of similar transactions in recent weeks.
• United Therapeutics' stock price was $432.19 on Wednesday, with a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, indicating fluctuations in recent trading activity.
• Analyst ratings for United Therapeutics are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.21.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.35, for a total value of $9,907,875.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, October 6th, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.24, for a total value of $10,130,400.00.
• On Monday, September 29th, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were 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 value 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 value of $1,961,050.00.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, Michael Benkowitz sold 11,375 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.41, for a total value 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 value of $9,396,900.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR traded down $1.42 on Wednesday, hitting $432.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 658,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,331. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.66. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $266.98 and a fifty-two week high of $459.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $377.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.47.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,189 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 8,647 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,741,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 149.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 177 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.21.

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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