Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Director Sells 50 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Jan Malcolm, a United Therapeutics director, sold 50 shares on Jan. 16 at an average price of $460.98 for $23,049 and now owns 320 shares (a 13.51% reduction), after three other 50-share sales in Dec. and Jan., signaling ongoing insider selling.
• United Therapeutics has a $20.16B market cap and a P/E of 17.74; it beat quarterly EPS ($7.16 vs. $6.89) while revenue slightly missed, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $509.50 (several firms have raised targets, including UBS to $645).

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) Director Jan Malcolm sold 50 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.98, for a total value of $23,049.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,513.60. This represents a 13.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Jan Malcolm also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 5th, Jan Malcolm sold 50 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.01, for a total transaction of $24,750.50.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Jan Malcolm sold 50 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.12, for a total value of $25,606.00.
• On Thursday, December 11th, Jan Malcolm sold 50 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.98, for a total transaction of $24,149.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

United Therapeutics stock traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $468.07. The stock had a trading volume of 418,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,381. The company has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $487.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.84. United Therapeutics Corporation has a one year low of $266.98 and a one year high of $519.99.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $362,876,000 after acquiring an additional 364,713 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $317,617,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $205,695,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $136,453,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation NASDAQ: UTHR is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company's primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.

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