United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4 %

UTHR stock opened at $364.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $370.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.87. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $208.62 and a 1-year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.88, for a total value of $2,773,016.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,997.92. This trade represents a 56.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,422 shares of company stock valued at $53,498,732 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,914,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $487,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 35.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after acquiring an additional 50,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.