United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Price Target Raised at Leerink Partners

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Leerink Partners from $685.00 to $725.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 33.99% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $677.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $368.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $7.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $541.09. 37,464 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 554,640. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $513.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $540.06. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $409.07 and a 12 month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 26.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.06, for a total transaction of $4,902,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,432,054.58. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 392,028 shares of company stock valued at $202,884,996. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,868,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $514,016,000 after acquiring an additional 70,829 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $450,140,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 327,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $193,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 309,220 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $183,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with life-threatening conditions, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company’s portfolio includes Tyvaso and Tyvaso DPI, inhaled formulations of treprostinil; Remodulin, an injectable treprostinil product; and Orenitram, an oral treprostinil therapy. These treatments are designed to improve exercise ability and delay disease progression in people with PAH.

The company also markets Unituxin, an antibody therapy used as part of treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.