United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $549.9091.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $531.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $492.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.84. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $266.98 and a 1-year high of $548.12.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.91, for a total transaction of $4,654,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,688.30. This represents a 98.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $10,788,975.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 317,320 shares of company stock worth $156,077,663. Insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,269,803,000 after acquiring an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,711 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $624,508,000 after acquiring an additional 295,221 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 90.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $387,801,000 after purchasing an additional 341,383 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.