United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They set an outperform rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $309.44.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $272.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.77. The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $247.29 and a 200-day moving average of $234.08. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $204.44 and a one year high of $279.98.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $677.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 24.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $30,756.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total value of $1,418,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at $8,680,079.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,528 shares of company stock worth $37,060,321 in the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,662,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,053,212,000 after purchasing an additional 20,373 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,950 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $123,566,000 after buying an additional 9,962 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 40.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 529,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,641,000 after acquiring an additional 152,151 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,519,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $97,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.