United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock Price Down 4.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) traded down 4.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $353.02 and last traded at $354.44. 148,268 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 271,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on UTHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $365.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $356.81. The firm has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,574.40. This trade represents a 23.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total transaction of $5,504,562.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,983.42. This trade represents a 85.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 149,048 shares of company stock worth $56,142,199 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,174 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 577.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,962,000 after acquiring an additional 161,751 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.