United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $357.50, but opened at $343.53. United Therapeutics shares last traded at $319.43, with a volume of 235,781 shares trading hands.

Specifically, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,678.52. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 10.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $361.95 and a 200-day moving average of $361.11.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,798,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,313 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $331,000. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by 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.