United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $575.00 to $660.00. The stock had previously closed at $522.83, but opened at $605.22. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Therapeutics shares last traded at $595.7250, with a volume of 438,978 shares.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UTHR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $557.64.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.81, for a total transaction of $5,090,195.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,707,270.53. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.90, for a total value of $5,359,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,115,648.40. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 333,820 shares of company stock worth $165,495,478 in the last three months. 10.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,189,617,000 after buying an additional 1,042,711 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $317,617,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,418,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% during the second 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. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,269,803,000 after purchasing an additional 383,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $495.95 and a 200 day moving average of $473.67.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.The firm had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

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.