United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $714.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The company’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.24 earnings per share.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $14.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $327.79. 666,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 495,467. United Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $343.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $307.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $1,214,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $43,862. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $1,214,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,862. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,310 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.35, for a total transaction of $346,298.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,884 shares of company stock worth $30,280,055. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on UTHR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.42.

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.