Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) EVP Sells $4,802,600.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) EVP Paul Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.60, for a total transaction of $4,802,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,058,584.60. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $453.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $356.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.01. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $455.12. The company has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.66.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.36% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The business had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $449.57.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,374,001,000 after purchasing an additional 15,312 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $362,876,000 after purchasing an additional 364,713 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after purchasing an additional 419,588 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,695,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $192,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.