United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Update

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the December 31st total of 2,240,000 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 317,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $352.66. The stock had a trading volume of 139,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,021. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $417.82.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during 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%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,510.88. This trade represents a 85.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.36, for a total transaction of $2,828,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,485,785.60. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,838 shares of company stock valued at $50,445,556 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,598 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,174 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 577.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,962,000 after purchasing an additional 161,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 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.