Insider Selling: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Sells $4,924,705.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.39, for a total transaction of $4,924,705.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,188,006.77. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $516.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.59. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $302.19 and a 52 week high of $609.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $531.06 and a 200 day moving average of $538.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $804.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Arjuna Capital increased its position in United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 5.1% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 474 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 5.4% during the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.1% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.