Insider Selling: United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total transaction of $3,566,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Michael Benkowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 23rd, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total transaction of $3,619,500.00.
• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total value of $3,727,500.00.
• On Monday, November 11th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total value of $6,109,800.00.
• On Thursday, November 7th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total value of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock traded down $4.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $352.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 266,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,397. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $370.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.43. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UTHR. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.86.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Tri Locum Partners LP bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,959,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 384.3% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 61,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $22,130,000 after purchasing an additional 49,003 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 68,605 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $692,748,000 after purchasing an additional 22,978 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.