United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

UTHR stock opened at $284.73 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.63. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $233.28 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,971,540. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $245,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $393,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,686,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.