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

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $509.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 2.6%

UTHR opened at $490.83 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $483.18 and a 200-day moving average of $400.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.84. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $266.98 and a 1-year high of $519.99.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business had revenue of $799.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.41, for a total value of $9,616,725.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 608,514 shares of company stock valued at $284,376,421 over the last three months. 10.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 40.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $362,876,000 after acquiring an additional 364,713 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 90.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after purchasing an additional 419,588 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $317,617,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,695,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,453,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently 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.