StockNews.com Upgrades United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) to Strong-Buy

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.3 %

UTHR stock opened at $352.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $370.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.43. United Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $919,164.36. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,216 shares of company stock worth $56,269,811. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% 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.