United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Up 82.2% in August

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,860,000 shares, agrowthof82.2% from the July 31st total of 1,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 638,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 638,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $400.52 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $307.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.37. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $436.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.62.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The company had revenue of $798.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.85 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Causey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.21, for a total value of $1,269,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,058,916.65. This trade represents a 38.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.21, for a total transaction of $4,237,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,409.01. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,181 shares of company stock worth $35,537,239. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 179,077 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,186,000 after acquiring an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 143,629 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,678,000 after purchasing an additional 14,132 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UTHR. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $295.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.62.

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.