United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on UTHR. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of UTHR traded down $2.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $357.64. 268,427 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,101. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.93. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $208.62 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.88, for a total transaction of $2,773,016.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,997.92. This trade represents a 56.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,961 shares of company stock worth $52,612,290 in the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tri Locum Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,959,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 384.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 61,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,130,000 after purchasing an additional 49,003 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 68,605 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,585,000 after buying an additional 4,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $692,748,000 after buying an additional 22,978 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently 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.