United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Given New $486.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on United Therapeutics to $486 from $466 and kept an "equal weight" rating, a target that implies about an 8.9% downside from the prior close.
• Most brokers are bullish—nine analysts rate UTHR a Buy vs. three Holds—giving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $549.91, well above current levels.
• United Therapeutics beat quarterly EPS estimates ($7.70 vs. $6.78) but slightly missed revenue expectations, and the company has seen heavy insider selling recently (insiders sold $156.8M of stock over the last three months, including sizable CEO and COO sales).

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $466.00 to $486.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 8.89% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on UTHR. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $549.91.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $533.41 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $490.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.92. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $266.98 and a 52 week high of $548.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $10,788,975.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.91, for a total transaction of $4,654,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,688.30. This represents a 98.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 318,870 shares of company stock worth $156,760,844 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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