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 sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on UTHR. Oppenheimer upped their price objective 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.5 %

United Therapeutics stock opened at $323.62 on Thursday. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $221.53 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $360.44 and its 200 day moving average is $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total transaction of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. This represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,678.52. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,278,893. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.