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

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on UTHR. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock opened at $366.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $370.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.77. The firm has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total value of $721,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. This represents a 23.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 142,422 shares of company stock valued at $53,498,732. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $139,206,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 41.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $386,168,000 after buying an additional 314,004 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $150,492,000 after acquiring an additional 152,249 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after acquiring an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $178,972,000 after acquiring an additional 92,240 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.