Martine Rothblatt Sells 9,500 Shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.96, for a total value of $4,930,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,372,939.28. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $518.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.59. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $291.22 and a 12 month high of $609.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $541.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $533.37.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The company had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,109,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 7.4% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 11,058 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,992,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 79.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 84,538 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,805,000 after acquiring an additional 37,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 93.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 182 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.33.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.