United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz Sells 10,000 Shares

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total value of $3,727,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $960,576.75. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 11th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total value of $6,109,800.00.
• On Thursday, November 7th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total transaction of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR opened at $378.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $366.18 and its 200 day moving average is $333.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $7,686,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $393,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.