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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.24, for a total value of $5,056,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $172,681,542.32. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $526.50. The company had a trading volume of 62,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,858. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $547.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $531.86. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $609.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.63 EPS. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arjuna Capital boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 5.1% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 474 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 5.4% during the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.33.

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.