United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09, RTT News reports. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.36 EPS.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded down $37.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $319.70. 498,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 370,938. The company’s 50 day moving average is $361.95 and its 200 day moving average is $361.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $221.53 and a one year high of $417.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total value of $3,619,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,745.15. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,278,893. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.