United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $294.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded United Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $213.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $234.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.52. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $204.44 and a one year high of $261.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $232.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.28 and a current ratio of 4.41.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.01 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.31% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 23.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total transaction of $77,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,699.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total transaction of $77,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,699.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 133,390 shares of company stock worth $31,379,925. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $2,238,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,107 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 153.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,802,000 after purchasing an additional 10,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.