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

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.69, for a total transaction of $5,212,555.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,229,077.97. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded down $6.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $543.39. 272,743 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $272.12 and a 12-month high of $609.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $562.63 and a 200 day moving average of $525.08.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The firm had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. United Therapeutics’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leuthold Group LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $110,045,000 after purchasing an additional 70,445 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,136,000 after purchasing an additional 12,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on UTHR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $619.42.

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.