United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $300.76, but opened at $317.10. United Therapeutics shares last traded at $298.77, with a volume of 87,993 shares trading hands.

The biotechnology company reported $6.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $726.82 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.17 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $314.00 target price (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of United Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $314.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,950.62. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.78, for a total transaction of $3,121,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,437,712.18. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,500 shares of company stock worth $24,472,050. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,098,000 after buying an additional 2,702 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 39,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,863,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $68,999,000 after buying an additional 50,291 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $303.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

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.