United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.44.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $276.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.49. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $280.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.77.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $677.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The company’s revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total value of $77,285.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,277,699.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total value of $77,285.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,699.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 164,328 shares of company stock worth $40,002,673. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 13,769.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,982,000 after acquiring an additional 8,950 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 94,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,617,000 after buying an additional 33,338 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,427,000 after buying an additional 23,532 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 55,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,200,000 after buying an additional 26,325 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 15,642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 5,622 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Therapeutics

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.