United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $2.61 on Thursday, reaching $360.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 335,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,780. The firm has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $371.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.37. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $208.62 and a 1-year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.04, for a total value of $2,760,095.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,626.56. This represents a 64.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 145,549 shares of company stock valued at $54,547,253. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.