United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $494.74 and last traded at $495.1590, with a volume of 203836 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $488.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $457.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.86.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $799.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.35, for a total value of $9,367,875.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 634,537 shares of company stock worth $285,123,273 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. CWM LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 204.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,487 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 495.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 3,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 77.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,084 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 17.0% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,532 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 60.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently 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.