United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $370.86.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,115.25. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,510.88. This trade represents a 85.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,396 shares of company stock valued at $42,175,418 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $386.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $362.57 and a 200-day moving average of $326.65.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its 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 return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.