United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Trading Down 3.5%

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price traded down 3.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $317.30 and last traded at $322.08. 359,761 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 491,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.73.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.16.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.37, for a total transaction of $980,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,408.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.37, for a total value of $980,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,408.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,334 shares of company stock worth $39,743,820. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $692,748,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after buying an additional 436,851 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 585,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $186,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,683 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 19.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $178,972,000 after purchasing an additional 92,240 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,519,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.