United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz Sells 10,000 Shares

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total value of $3,646,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $939,625.74. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, December 30th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00.
• On Monday, December 23rd, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total value of $3,619,500.00.
• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total value of $3,727,500.00.
• On Monday, November 11th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total value of $6,109,800.00.
• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total value of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $364.70. The stock had a trading volume of 294,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,869. The company has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $370.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.98. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $336,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 42.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,135,000 after buying an additional 12,360 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 11.4% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 9,202 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 18.2% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.36.

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.