United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 9,500 Shares of Company Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.49, for a total value of $5,562,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $189,958,132.07. This represents a 2.84% 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 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $7.06 on Thursday, reaching $593.54. 353,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,935. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1-year low of $430.02 and a 1-year high of $609.35. The firm has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $524.26 and a 200-day moving average of $529.41.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Therapeutics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $2 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,868,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $514,016,000 after acquiring an additional 70,829 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $450,140,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during 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. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 270,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $160,447,000 after purchasing an additional 51,555 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $368.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $717.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $515.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $667.07.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with life-threatening conditions, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s portfolio includes Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable treprostinil product; and Orenitram, an oral treprostinil therapy. These treatments are designed to improve exercise ability and delay disease progression in people with PAH.

The company also markets Unituxin, an antibody therapy used as part of treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.