United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $370.86.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $363.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $362.93 and a 200 day moving average of $328.17. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $5.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,115.25. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,215.24. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,396 shares of company stock valued at $42,175,418. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.