Brokerages Set United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Price Target at $648.33

Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $648.3333.

Several brokerages have weighed in on UTHR. Weiss Ratings downgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price objective on United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $517.71 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $272.12 and a 52 week high of $609.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $543.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $532.44. The company has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.37, for a total transaction of $4,962,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,479,289.91. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.56, for a total transaction of $4,586,248.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,960,240.32. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 502,833 shares of company stock worth $279,377,162. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 141.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 18.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 77.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.