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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.61, for a total value of $5,268,795.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,468,914.93. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR traded up $8.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $555.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 531,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 498,740. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $559.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.20. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $272.12 and a fifty-two week high of $609.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.