Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Key Points

• Investors purchased an unusually large volume of call options—15,930 calls on Friday, roughly a 665% increase versus the typical 2,083-call daily volume, signaling heavy bullish positioning.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: the CFO sold 10,000 shares and the COO sold 22,500, with insiders offloading 403,295 shares (about $211 million) in the past 90 days while retaining a 10.3% ownership stake.
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., RBC to $643, TD Cowen to $660, Oppenheimer to $600), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $601.50.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 15,930 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 665% compared to the typical volume of 2,083 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total value of $5,274,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,956,712.48. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.91, for a total value of $10,617,975.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 403,295 shares of company stock valued at $211,274,496. Insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 55.9% during the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UTHR. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $601.50.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR traded up $8.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $588.64. 292,201 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,647. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $488.35. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $272.12 and a 52 week high of $607.89.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

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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