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 that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $538.00, for a total transaction of $5,111,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,940. This trade represents a 98.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded down $9.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $530.35. 409,713 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 583,643. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.84. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $548.12.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.The firm had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.19 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $423.00 to $466.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,269,803,000 after purchasing an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,189,617,000 after buying an additional 1,042,711 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $624,508,000 after buying an additional 295,221 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% during 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $387,801,000 after acquiring an additional 341,383 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.