United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Down 14.3% in December

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 2,240,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 317,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $2,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,300. The trade was a 52.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,630 shares of company stock valued at $54,371,916. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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, 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 note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded up $4.63 on Thursday, hitting $366.27. 12,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,730. The stock has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $369.14 and a 200 day moving average of $353.37.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal 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.