Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Director Sells 4,560 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Tommy Thompson sold 4,560 shares of United Therapeutics stock for approximately $1.84 million, reducing his holdings by nearly 35%.
• The company's stock price fell $7.30 to $396.50, with a market cap of $17.89 billion and recent earnings falling short of estimates.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with target prices ranging from $328 to $564, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) Director Tommy Thompson sold 4,560 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.36, for a total transaction of $1,839,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $3,420,492.80. This represents a 34.97% 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 Stock Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock traded down $7.30 on Wednesday, hitting $396.50. 650,182 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 565,346. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.62. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $436.95.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $798.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The company's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.85 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $438.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 179,077 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after purchasing an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,715 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 143,629 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $50,678,000 after purchasing an additional 14,132 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $959,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,917 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. 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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