United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Trading Down 3.4% After Insider Selling

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) traded down 3.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $236.07 and last traded at $239.32. 136,394 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 400,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.86.

Specifically, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.97, for a total transaction of $1,367,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,474.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.97, for a total value of $1,367,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,474.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,680 shares of company stock valued at $17,886,630 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded United Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $213.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.40.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 5.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 4.41, a quick ratio of 4.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $225.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.41.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.08. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 42.31%. The company had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.