Insider Selling: United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $3,607,600.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,678.52. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total value of $3,710,500.00.
• On Monday, February 10th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $3,536,400.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.71, for a total transaction of $3,707,100.00.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00.
• On Monday, January 13th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total transaction of $3,646,200.00.
• On Monday, December 30th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00.
• 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.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $323.62 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $360.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $360.55.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

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.