Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) EVP Sells 11,000 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) EVP Paul Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.18, for a total transaction of $5,644,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,875,273.58. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $4.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $502.90. The stock had a trading volume of 253,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,139. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $471.38 and a 200 day moving average of $388.59. The company has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.86. United Therapeutics Corporation has a one year low of $266.98 and a one year high of $519.99.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 40.65%.The business had revenue of $799.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 649 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $2,749,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 45.2% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 17,741 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,469,000 after acquiring an additional 5,520 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.00.

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.