United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 233,537 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 301,818 shares.The stock last traded at $353.33 and had previously closed at $354.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on UTHR. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.08.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $362.86 and its 200-day moving average is $357.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. This represents a 23.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,614 shares of company stock valued at $47,868,005 in the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,462,018,000 after acquiring an additional 18,313,424 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,206,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $386,168,000 after purchasing an additional 314,004 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in United Therapeutics by 577.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,962,000 after purchasing an additional 161,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $150,492,000 after purchasing an additional 152,249 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.