Martine A. Rothblatt Sells 4,000 Shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

Key Points

• Martine Rothblatt, the CEO of United Therapeutics, sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock for approximately $1.6 million, resulting in a significant decrease of 96.85% in her holdings.
• United Therapeutics reported a quarterly EPS of $6.41, missing expectations by $0.39, while also showing a revenue increase of 11.7% year-over-year.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with target prices ranging significantly from $330 to $575.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.17, for a total value of $1,600,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,022.10. The trade was a 96.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $7.70 on Friday, hitting $417.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,940,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,732. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $436.95. The company has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $329.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.69.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The business had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $438.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,374,001,000 after acquiring an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $362,876,000 after acquiring an additional 364,713 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $205,695,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $192,571,000 after acquiring an additional 4,145 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.