United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $432.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 342,862 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 488,296 shares.The stock last traded at $350.07 and had previously closed at $355.59.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.17.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,597.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.45, for a total transaction of $1,153,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $41,658.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,597.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,252 shares of company stock worth $36,939,427 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 63.6% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $340.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.15.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $714.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.