Short Interest in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Increases By 18.8%

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 18.8% from the February 13th total of 2,070,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 403,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UTHR. StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total transaction of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,950.62. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,464 shares of company stock valued at $42,396,244 in the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,462,018,000 after acquiring an additional 18,313,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $151,764,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $519,170,000 after acquiring an additional 393,777 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $139,206,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,325.5% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,085,000 after acquiring an additional 189,967 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $322.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $349.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $358.27. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

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

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.