United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, an increase of 64.1% from the February 29th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 406,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.01, for a total transaction of $1,290,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,869,150.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total value of $376,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.01, for a total value of $1,290,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,869,150.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,680 shares of company stock valued at $17,886,630 over the last ninety days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $66,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $229.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.28 and a current ratio of 4.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.77 and a 200 day moving average of $227.41. United Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $204.44 and a 52-week high of $261.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $575.01 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.31% and a return on equity of 17.72%. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 23.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink began coverage on United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.40.

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.