United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $549.9091.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $466.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $522.83 on Wednesday. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $266.98 and a one year high of $549.50. The company has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.67.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.91, for a total value of $10,617,975.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total transaction of $5,274,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,956,712.48. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 333,820 shares of company stock worth $165,495,478. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after buying an additional 1,042,711 shares during the period. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $317,617,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $293,418,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 17.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 383,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.