United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Update

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a decline of 25.6% from the February 28th total of 2,460,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 444,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $306.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $340.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.78.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,755 shares of company stock worth $29,792,021 in the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.