United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

UTHR has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR opened at $359.58 on Thursday. United Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $371.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.95. The stock has a market cap of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,115.25. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 145,549 shares of company stock valued at $54,547,253. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

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.