UBS Group Raises United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Price Target to $705.00

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $655.00 to $705.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 45.36% from the stock’s current price.

UTHR has been the topic of several other research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $423.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1%

UTHR traded down $5.22 on Thursday, hitting $484.99. The company had a trading volume of 111,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,470. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $483.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.90. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $537.19. The firm has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.13, for a total value of $6,817,557.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher Causey sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $520,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,178,800. This trade represents a 19.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 356,454 shares of company stock valued at $172,894,963 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,189,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,711 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $317,617,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $293,418,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted 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 worth $254,219,000 after buying an additional 419,588 shares during the period. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.