Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells $5,513,420.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.36, for a total transaction of $5,513,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $23,512,124.68. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $588.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $526.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $489.98. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $607.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Key United Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options flow — Traders bought 15,930 UTHR call options on Friday (about a 665% jump versus average call volume), indicating speculative or hedged bullish positioning that can amplify near-term upside or volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases and constructive coverage — Multiple firms have raised price targets recently (examples cited include Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, BofA and RBC) and the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with an average target near $601.50, supporting positive investor sentiment. Analyst Coverage & MarketBeat Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Small CEO sale disclosed — CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 75 shares (March 13) for roughly $40k; the size is immaterial to overall ownership and is unlikely on its own to drive stock direction. InsiderTrades Alert
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional/hedge fund activity — Several funds adjusted positions (some added, some trimmed); UTHR remains heavily institutionally owned (~94%), which tends to moderate retail-driven swings. MarketBeat: Insider & Institutional Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Material insider selling by CEO — Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares on April 15 (~$5.5M at ~$580.36), a significant reduction in her reported holding per filings; large insider sales can be perceived negatively by investors. SEC Filing: CEO Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Large EVP sale — EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares on April 16 for roughly $4.79M, a meaningful insider disposition that may pressure sentiment if more insider sales follow. SEC Filing: EVP Sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $471.00 to $519.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $601.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 9.9% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 7,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Asset Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 19.8% during the first quarter. Asset Advisory Group Inc. now owns 630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 1.8% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,116 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,379,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.