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 United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.20, for a total value of $4,647,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $158,717,515.60. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $506.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $540.39. United Therapeutics Corporation has a one year low of $395.00 and a one year high of $609.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 earnings per share for the current year.

United Therapeutics News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: United Therapeutics entered a $477.6 million accelerated share repurchase agreement, representing the remainder of its previously authorized $2.0 billion buyback. The program should reduce shares outstanding and increase remaining shareholders’ ownership and per-share earnings. United Therapeutics Corporation Announces Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement for Remainder of $2.0 Billion Authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 11 Buy ratings and two Holds and a reported average price target of $646, well above the stock’s recent trading level. This supports the view that UTHR’s pulmonary arterial hypertension franchise and pipeline retain meaningful value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference and the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference. The supplied reports do not identify a major new announcement, guidance change, or clinical update, so the presentations appear unlikely to create a significant near-term catalyst. Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt disclosed sales of 9,500 UTHR shares for approximately $4.74 million at an average price of $499.03. A separate report describes another 9,500-share sale for about $4.65 million at $489.20. Each transaction reduced her direct ownership by 2.84%; while such sales may be personal or scheduled, repeated insider selling can weigh on sentiment. United Therapeutics Executive Share Sale
• Negative Sentiment: The latest quarterly results were mixed: earnings per share exceeded estimates, but revenue of $783.3 million missed expectations of $804.65 million and declined 1.9% year over year. The stock also remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating continued technical pressure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 50 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 55.9% during the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 target price on United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.00.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for serious and life-threatening conditions, with a primary emphasis on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s products are designed to improve pulmonary blood flow and reduce the effects of this progressive disease.

United Therapeutics’ PAH portfolio includes Remodulin (treprostinil) injection, Orenitram (treprostinil) extended-release tablets, and Tyvaso (treprostinil), which is available as an inhalation solution and as the Tyvaso DPI dry-powder inhaler.