Short Interest in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Increases By 18.8%

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the February 13th total of 2,070,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 403,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total transaction of $3,566,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $919,164.36. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,255 shares of company stock worth $32,614,521 over the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 33.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,332 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 347.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 4.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $344,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $312.99. 1,155,261 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 446,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $345.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.99. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently 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.