United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Jumps 7% – Should You Buy?

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s share price rose 7% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $516.75 and last traded at $515.2770. Approximately 232,095 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 514,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $481.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $508.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.33.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.37, for a total transaction of $4,962,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,479,289.91. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 365,053 shares of company stock worth $188,089,856. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $2,868,735,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $450,140,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $293,418,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $159,522,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $154,304,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other serious cardiopulmonary conditions. The company’s products include Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable form of treprostinil; Orenitram, an oral treprostinil product; and Adcirca, a tadalafil-based PAH treatment.

United Therapeutics markets its therapies primarily in the United States and internationally through commercial and regulatory activities in additional markets.