United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Trading Down 6.8% on Insider Selling

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was down 6.8% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $343.71 and last traded at $345.10. Approximately 254,537 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 467,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $370.26.

Specifically, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total transaction of $2,855,916.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,277.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.33.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 6.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.35. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $352.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.92.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. LSV Asset Management grew its position in United Therapeutics by 82.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,422,000 after acquiring an additional 262,222 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 567.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,700 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $178,972,000 after acquiring an additional 92,240 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by 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.