Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells 9,500 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.51, for a total transaction of $5,362,845.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,151,317.93. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR traded up $20.44 on Monday, hitting $582.46. 559,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 557,193. The company has a market capitalization of $24.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $533.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $533.42. United Therapeutics Corporation has a one year low of $445.81 and a one year high of $614.23.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $5.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.01 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $832.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $781.14 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 38.61%. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.77 earnings per share for the current year.

United Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 22nd that allows the company to buy back $2 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UTHR. TD Cowen boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $728.00 to $768.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $728.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $700.00 to $703.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,868,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $514,016,000 after acquiring an additional 70,829 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $450,140,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 23.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 270,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $160,447,000 after acquiring an additional 51,555 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $159,522,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes treatments for serious diseases, with a primary focus on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Its therapies include treprostinil products delivered by injection, inhalation, or oral tablet, marketed under brands including Remodulin, Tyvaso, and Orenitram. The company also markets Unituxin, a treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma.

Founded in 1996 by Martine Rothblatt, United Therapeutics is also pursuing technologies intended to address the shortage of transplantable organs.