HC Wainwright Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on UTHR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised United Therapeutics from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $213.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. They set an outperform rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $308.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $308.78.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $262.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 4.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.54. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $204.44 and a 1-year high of $262.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $236.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $677.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.05% and a return on equity of 18.72%. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 23.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total transaction of $1,291,860.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,880,130.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total transaction of $376,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total transaction of $1,291,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,880,130.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,790 shares of company stock valued at $33,572,685. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $100,519,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,422,000 after purchasing an additional 262,222 shares in the last quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,158,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,697.2% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 156,587 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after buying an additional 150,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 309.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 134,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,501,000 after buying an additional 101,419 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.