UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on United Therapeutics to $705 (from $655) and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 45% upside from the current share price.
• Other firms (Oppenheimer, TD Cowen, RBC) also lifted targets and MarketBeat's consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $539 average target, while UTHR trades around $485 with a market cap near $21.3 billion.
• United Therapeutics beat EPS estimates ($7.70 vs. $6.78) but missed revenue expectations, showing strong profitability (net margin ~41.9%), and there has been significant insider selling recently (356,454 shares, about $173M sold last quarter) though insiders still own ~10.3%.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $655.00 to $705.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 45.36% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.1%

UTHR traded down $5.22 on Thursday, hitting $484.99. The company had a trading volume of 111,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,470. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $483.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $450.90. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $537.19. The company has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 21,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.60, for a total transaction of $10,050,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,896,761.20. This trade represents a 72.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.30, for a total value of $11,166,750.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 356,454 shares of company stock valued at $172,894,963 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AXQ Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 495.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 3,888 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 396.3% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 194.7% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,503 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $444,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $8,351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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