United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• United Therapeutics received a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 11 of 13 covering firms rating it a buy and an average 12-month target price of about $619.42.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed Wall Street estimates, reporting EPS of $5.82 versus $7.00 expected and revenue of $781.5 million versus $797.4 million expected.
• Shares were down slightly and insider activity has been notable, with CFO James Edgemond and COO Michael Benkowitz both selling stock, while institutional investors still own 94.08% of the company.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $619.4167.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UTHR. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $707.00 to $701.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $579.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.60. United Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $609.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $554.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 27.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total value of $5,274,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,956,712.48. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,440 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.13, for a total transaction of $6,817,557.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 501,913 shares of company stock valued at $278,169,037. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arjuna Capital grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.1% in the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.4% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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