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

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.54, for a total transaction of $5,125,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,140.20. This trade represents a 98.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $8.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $544.71. 1,477,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 458,323. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $484.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $458.01. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $266.98 and a 52 week high of $548.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $423.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.00.

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.