Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 9,500 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $4,987,405.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $21,268,919.87. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of United Therapeutics stock traded down $3.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $521.22. The company had a trading volume of 514,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,888. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $490.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $468.92. The stock has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.84. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $548.12.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.19 EPS. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 396.3% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 194.7% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,503 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,351,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 271.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 46,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,027,000 after buying an additional 33,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $466.00 to $486.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.91.

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.