United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Down 4.4% - Here's Why

Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) fell 4.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $362.70 and last traded at $363.00. 213,746 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 445,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UTHR. Argus lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 5.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $370.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $344.26.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total value of $92,350.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,215.24. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total value of $2,882,649.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. This represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,340 shares of company stock valued at $44,765,530 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. 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.