Insider Selling: United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $6,109,800.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total value of $6,109,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, November 7th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total transaction of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $386.27 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $362.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.65. The firm has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.1 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 2.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,133 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 17.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,640 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in United Therapeutics by 14.5% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 8,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 3.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,257 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is 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.