United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $3,619,500.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total transaction of $3,619,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $932,745.15. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total transaction of $3,727,500.00.
• On Monday, November 11th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total value of $6,109,800.00.
• On Thursday, November 7th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total value of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $359.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $370.67 and its 200-day moving average is $348.46. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 82.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $307,837,000 after buying an additional 436,851 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,206,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $386,168,000 after purchasing an additional 314,004 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $150,492,000 after purchasing an additional 152,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. 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.