Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.04, for a total value of $2,004,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,135.20. The trade was a 96.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.0%

UTHR stock traded up $10.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $517.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,683,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,124. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $462.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $379.23. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $518.61. The company has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.86.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $799.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 price objective on United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $317,617,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $136,453,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after buying an additional 419,588 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $362,876,000 after acquiring an additional 364,713 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 198.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 350,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,635,000 after acquiring an additional 232,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.