United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Argus Analyst Says

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Argus from $360.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Argus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 10.45% from the company’s previous close.

UTHR has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.23.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $362.15. The stock had a trading volume of 195,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,999. United Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $377.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $354.34 and its 200 day moving average is $315.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly 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 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 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total value of $2,855,916.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,277.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total transaction of $93,722.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,293.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total value of $2,855,916.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,277.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,012 shares of company stock valued at $36,767,286 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HMS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $477,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,380 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 113,742 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,759,000 after acquiring an additional 31,442 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,243,000 after purchasing an additional 6,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $692,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.