Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells $5,466,300.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.40, for a total value of $5,466,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,311,180.20. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $556.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $566.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.84. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $272.12 and a 12-month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting United Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: United Therapeutics is still drawing support from bullish analyst coverage, including recent higher price targets and buy/overweight ratings, which suggests Wall Street remains constructive on the long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to highlight clinical and business-development catalysts, including its PHINDER screening study, xenokidney/EXTEND trial progress, and a planned presentation at the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, all of which help keep the growth story visible to investors. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate article referenced United Therapeutics in a broader mid-cap stock discussion, but it did not appear to contain company-specific new information likely to move the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares and CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares this week. Multiple insider sales can weigh on sentiment, especially when they come soon after a disappointing earnings report. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s most recent quarterly results missed estimates on both EPS and revenue, leaving investors with an ongoing fundamental overhang despite strong profitability metrics.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $619.42.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 396.3% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 194.7% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,503 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $444,000. Tobam boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 183.9% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 7,646 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.