United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $4,520,538.75 in Stock

Key Points

• Michael Benkowitz, COO of United Therapeutics, sold a total of $4,520,538.75 worth of stock on September 9th, by selling 11,375 shares at an average price of $397.41.
• United Therapeutics reported $6.41 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.39, despite a revenue increase of 11.7% year-over-year.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on United Therapeutics, with price targets ranging from $328.00 to $564.00, reflecting a "Moderate Buy" consensus from the market.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 11,375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.41, for a total value of $4,520,538.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 8th, Michael Benkowitz sold 5,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.21, for a total value of $1,961,050.00.
• On Tuesday, September 2nd, Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.64, for a total value of $9,396,900.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR traded down $7.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $396.50. The stock had a trading volume of 650,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,346. The firm has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $312.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.29. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $436.95.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 179,077 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after acquiring an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,715 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 143,629 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $50,678,000 after acquiring an additional 14,132 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $959,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,917 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $438.85.

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.

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