United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $378.36.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UTHR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $2,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,442,300. The trade was a 52.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. This trade represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,848 shares of company stock worth $55,165,099. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 792 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in United Therapeutics by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 5,221 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 1,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $371.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.24. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.