Insider Selling: United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total value of $3,619,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $932,745.15. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total transaction of $3,727,500.00.
• On Monday, November 11th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.32, for a total transaction of $6,109,800.00.
• On Thursday, November 7th, Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total transaction of $6,021,600.00.
• On Friday, November 1st, Michael Benkowitz sold 14,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total value of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $359.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $417.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.46.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus upped 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. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 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. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.