United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook: United Therapeutics has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 13 analysts, with 11 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $648.33 versus the reported share price of $527.94.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company, with several major firms increasing their positions.
• Recent operating results fell short of expectations: United Therapeutics reported quarterly EPS of $5.82 versus the $7.00 consensus and revenue of $781.5 million, down 1.6% year over year; insiders also sold $275.8 million of stock over the past three months.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $648.3333.

A number of research firms recently commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.99, for a total transaction of $5,091,905.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,714,562.87. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jan Malcolm sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.59, for a total value of $178,941.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 450 shares in the company, valued at $247,765.50. This represents a 41.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 493,833 shares of company stock valued at $275,841,047. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,269,803,000 after acquiring an additional 383,838 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,189,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,711 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $624,508,000 after purchasing an additional 295,221 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 70,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,418,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $527.94 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $547.10 and a 200 day moving average of $531.86. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $272.12 and a 1 year high of $609.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 26.65 earnings per share 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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