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

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.09, for a total value of $5,700,855.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $194,694,999.87. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9%

UTHR opened at $601.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $530.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $531.77. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $430.02 and a twelve month high of $609.99.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $783.30 million during 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 business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $2 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $515.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on United Therapeutics from $708.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $710.00 to $695.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $667.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in United Therapeutics by 2,400.0% in the second 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 acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 426.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with life-threatening conditions, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s portfolio includes Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable treprostinil product; and Orenitram, an oral treprostinil therapy. These treatments are designed to improve exercise ability and delay disease progression in people with PAH.

The company also markets Unituxin, an antibody therapy used as part of treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.