Short Interest in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Increases By 18.8%

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the February 13th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 403,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $322.94 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $221.53 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $349.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $358.27.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,950.62. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock valued at $42,396,244. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

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 United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

About United Therapeutics

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.