United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt Sells 9,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 United Therapeutics shares at an average price of $480.85, generating approximately $4.57 million. Her direct ownership fell 2.84% to 324,443 shares.
• United Therapeutics shares traded near $481.47, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages and well below the 52-week high of $609.35.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $7.27 versus $6.86 expected, although revenue declined 1.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $621.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.85, for a total transaction of $4,568,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $156,008,416.55. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded down $4.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $481.47. 414,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,124. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $409.07 and a fifty-two week high of $609.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $509.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $539.77.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.41 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arjuna Capital increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 471 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $621.00.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other serious cardiopulmonary conditions. The company's products include Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable form of treprostinil; Orenitram, an oral treprostinil product; and Adcirca, a tadalafil-based PAH treatment.

United Therapeutics markets its therapies primarily in the United States and internationally through commercial and regulatory activities in additional markets.

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