United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

UTHR has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 research report on Monday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. They set an outperform rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $292.67.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

UTHR opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $229.42 and its 200-day moving average is $228.22. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $204.44 and a 1-year high of $261.54. 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 company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total transaction of $77,285.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,699.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 124,990 shares of company stock worth $29,301,585 in the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 28,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 229.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,063 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $1,160,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 187.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 877 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Therapeutics

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.