United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $370.86.

A number of brokerages have commented on UTHR. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Argus raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. This trade represents a 23.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total transaction of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 150,216 shares of company stock worth $56,269,811 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $356.33 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $370.42 and a 200-day moving average of $350.39. United Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55.

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

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.