United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $513.93 and last traded at $510.94, with a volume of 613498 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $500.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UTHR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $460.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $378.34.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 40.65%.The company had revenue of $799.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.95, for a total transaction of $495,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,965.50. This represents a 40.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.36, for a total transaction of $1,742,181.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,142 shares in the company, valued at $4,033,221.12. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 624,054 shares of company stock worth $283,834,364. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 40.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $362,876,000 after buying an additional 364,713 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares during the period. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $317,617,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $205,695,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,757 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,278,000 after acquiring an additional 87,664 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.