United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $710.00 to $695.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on UTHR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $515.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $850.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $717.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $368.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $667.07.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.9%

UTHR stock opened at $598.72 on Wednesday. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $430.02 and a 52 week high of $609.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $527.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $530.54. The company has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.49.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $804.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 26.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 22nd that permits the company to buy back $2 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.49, for a total value of $5,562,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,958,132.07. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Mahon sold 8,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.30, for a total value of $4,517,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,587,119.60. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 401,528 shares of company stock worth $210,097,491 in the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 859.1% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 10,425 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,649,000 after purchasing an additional 9,338 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,815,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.5% in the third quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 51.7% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

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.