United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Down 3.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) fell 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $236.07 and last traded at $239.32. 136,394 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 400,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.86.

Specifically, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,869,150.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.01, for a total transaction of $1,290,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,869,150.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,680 shares of company stock valued at $17,886,630 over the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.40.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 5.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 4.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.52.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $614.70 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,675,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $300,585,000 after purchasing an additional 710,668 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $100,519,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 7.3% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,096,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,125,093,000 after buying an additional 344,724 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 15.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,795,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $402,031,000 after buying an additional 245,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,158,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.