United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on the stock from $319.00 to $344.00. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Therapeutics traded as high as $377.93 and last traded at $375.51, with a volume of 17484 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $373.97.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on UTHR. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.43.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total value of $93,722.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,293.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,412 shares of company stock valued at $33,971,508 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $354.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.