United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz Sells 15,000 Shares

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,510.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total transaction of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $9.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $412.08. 354,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,204. The stock has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $358.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.94. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 14.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

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.