United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $505.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.60, for a total transaction of $10,050,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,896,761.20. This represents a 72.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.67, for a total transaction of $5,331,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,826,647.27. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 608,037 shares of company stock valued at $274,519,153 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $362,876,000 after buying an additional 364,713 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $317,617,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $205,695,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $192,571,000 after acquiring an additional 4,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $493.99 on Monday. United Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $496.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $457.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $374.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $799.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 40.65%.The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.