United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $367.98 and last traded at $367.49, with a volume of 83762 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $359.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.17.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 3.0 %

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.02. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.79, for a total transaction of $1,194,444.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,132.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total value of $8,084,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $833,350.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.79, for a total value of $1,194,444.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,132.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,430 shares of company stock valued at $37,204,602 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after acquiring an additional 436,851 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,422,000 after purchasing an additional 262,222 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 567.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,533,000 after purchasing an additional 153,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $178,972,000 after buying an additional 92,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.