Martine Rothblatt Sells 9,500 Shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.91, for a total transaction of $4,739,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,867,857.13. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $518.27 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $534.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $536.74. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $302.19 and a 1 year high of $609.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. Weiss Ratings raised United Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 18.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 77.3% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.