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

Key Points

• CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares on April 10 at an average price of $569.28 for total proceeds of $5,408,160, leaving her with 40,513 shares (about a 19% reduction in her stake).
• United Therapeutics posted an EPS beat of $7.70 versus $6.78 expected on quarterly revenue of $790.2M and a net margin of 41.94%.
• Analysts are largely positive—10 Buys and 3 Holds—with a consensus target of $601.50; the stock trades around $577.63, near its 52-week high, and the company has a market cap of roughly $25.3B.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.28, for a total transaction of $5,408,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $23,063,240.64. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $5.90 on Monday, hitting $577.63. The stock had a trading volume of 452,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 498,328. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $607.89. The company has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $516.68 and a 200-day moving average of $484.97.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $471.00 to $519.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $601.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,269,803,000 after acquiring an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 74.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,042,711 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $624,508,000 after acquiring an additional 295,221 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $387,801,000 after purchasing an additional 341,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $317,617,000. 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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