Martine Rothblatt Sells 9,500 Shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.91, for a total value of $4,739,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,867,857.13. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded up $8.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $508.48. 457,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,745. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $535.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $536.15. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $302.19 and a fifty-two week high of $609.35. The stock has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Leuthold Group LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,200,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in United Therapeutics by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $110,045,000 after acquiring an additional 70,445 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 478.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 4,553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 171.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $633,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UTHR. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.00.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.