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

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 United Therapeutics shares at an average price of $515.03, generating approximately $4.89 million. Her remaining stake totaled 324,443 shares, worth about $167.1 million.
• United Therapeutics reported quarterly EPS of $7.27, beating estimates of $6.86, while revenue of $783.3 million fell short of expectations and declined 1.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $646, compared with the stock’s reported trading price of $501.27; institutional investors own 94.08% of the company.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.03, for a total transaction of $4,892,785.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,097,878.29. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock traded down $10.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $501.27. The stock had a trading volume of 408,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,115. The company's 50-day moving average price is $537.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $535.74. The firm has a market cap of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.59. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $302.19 and a 12-month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $646.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $2,868,735,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,269,803,000 after buying an additional 383,838 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after buying an additional 1,042,711 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $624,508,000 after buying an additional 295,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $514,016,000 after buying an additional 70,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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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