Brokerages Set United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Target Price at $388.25

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $388.25.

UTHR has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $281.16 on Wednesday. United Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $230.39 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $323.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total value of $3,646,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $939,625.74. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 87,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,640,680 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.