United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $646.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.80, for a total transaction of $5,185,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,111,995.40. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 355,553 shares of company stock valued at $184,681,066. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $2,868,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $514,016,000 after acquiring an additional 70,829 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $450,140,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $293,418,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 327,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $193,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $497.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $409.07 and a 52-week high of $609.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $514.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $540.51.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $783.30 million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 26.21 EPS for the current year.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for serious and life-threatening conditions, with a primary emphasis on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s products are designed to improve pulmonary blood flow and reduce the effects of this progressive disease.

United Therapeutics’ PAH portfolio includes Remodulin (treprostinil) injection, Orenitram (treprostinil) extended-release tablets, and Tyvaso (treprostinil), which is available as an inhalation solution and as the Tyvaso DPI dry-powder inhaler.