United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $3,566,800.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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

• On Monday, December 23rd, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total transaction of $3,619,500.00.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 transaction of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of UTHR traded down $4.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $352.84. The stock had a trading volume of 266,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,397. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.43. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on UTHR. Argus raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. HC Wainwright lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.86.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $692,748,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,094,015 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $391,459,000 after purchasing an additional 45,566 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $386,168,000 after purchasing an additional 314,004 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in United Therapeutics by 82.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in United Therapeutics by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 585,969 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $186,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,683 shares in the last quarter. 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.