United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $218.00 to $240.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. United Therapeutics traded as high as $262.51 and last traded at $262.40, with a volume of 779488 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $258.13.

UTHR has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.78.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,680 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total transaction of $376,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total transaction of $1,291,860.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,880,130.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,680 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total value of $376,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 141,790 shares of company stock valued at $33,572,685 in the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 63.6% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 21.1% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 4.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $236.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.20.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.54. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.05% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $677.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.31 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.69 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.