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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.42, for a total transaction of $5,038,990.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $172,091,056.06. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

UTHR opened at $524.70 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1-year low of $272.12 and a 1-year high of $609.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $545.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $532.24.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.63 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Leuthold Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in United Therapeutics by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $110,045,000 after purchasing an additional 70,445 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,059,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,227,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $9,745,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UTHR. Raymond James Financial began coverage on United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.33.

Key Headlines Impacting United Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Promising ralinepag trial results: The Lancet published full results from United Therapeutics’ ADVANCE OUTCOMES study. Investigational pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment ralinepag reduced the risk of clinical worsening by 55% versus placebo, improving the company’s potential pipeline outlook. Ralinepag is not yet approved by the FDA, so regulatory and commercialization risks remain. United Therapeutics Announces ADVANCE OUTCOMES Study of Ralinepag Published in The Lancet
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Eleven analysts rate UTHR a Buy and two rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. The average price target is $648.33, with JPMorgan recently raising its target to $687 and HC Wainwright increasing its target to $660. United Therapeutics Given Average Rating of Moderate Buy by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own approximately 94.1% of UTHR’s shares. Several institutions increased their positions during the second quarter, signaling continued professional-investor interest, although this does not guarantee further gains. United Therapeutics Insider Trading Report
• Negative Sentiment: CEO stock sale may pressure sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares for roughly $5.04 million, reducing her direct stake by 2.84%. She still owns a substantial position, so the transaction may reflect liquidity or diversification rather than a negative view of the business, but insider selling can weigh on investor confidence. Insider Selling United Therapeutics CEO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Recent operating results were below expectations: United Therapeutics previously reported quarterly earnings and revenue below consensus, with revenue declining 1.6% year over year. That performance remains a concern despite the company’s strong profitability and promising pipeline.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.