United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Trading Down 4.7% on Insider Selling

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) fell 4.7% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $491.22 and last traded at $488.7910. Approximately 186,876 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 486,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.70.

Specifically, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.09, for a total value of $4,855,355.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $165,819,572.87. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.51, for a total value of $4,916,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $167,902,496.93. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.28, for a total value of $4,914,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $167,827,875.04. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UTHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 4.7%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $529.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $539.68. The firm has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 50 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 426.7% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.