United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $367.98 and last traded at $367.49, with a volume of 83762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $310.00 to $321.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.17.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $349.90 and its 200 day moving average is $306.93.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $714.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 40.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.32, for a total value of $1,192,752.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $43,071.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total transaction of $93,722.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,293.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.32, for a total value of $1,192,752.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,071.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,830 shares of company stock worth $36,010,158 over the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 28.3% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 10,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. 94.08% of the stock is 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.