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

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 United Therapeutics shares at an average price of $541.64, generating approximately $5.15 million. Her remaining stake was 324,443 shares, a 2.84% reduction in ownership.
• United Therapeutics shares rose 1.0% to $541.62, while the company’s latest quarterly results beat EPS expectations ($7.27 versus $6.86) despite revenue falling 1.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $621, and institutional investors own 94.08% of the stock.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.64, for a total value of $5,145,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,731,306.52. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.0%

UTHR traded up $5.22 on Tuesday, hitting $541.62. 1,193,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 546,508. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $510.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $539.66. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $409.07 and a twelve month high of $609.35. The company has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,868,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $514,016,000 after purchasing an additional 70,829 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $450,140,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 327,122 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $193,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 309,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $183,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on UTHR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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