United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $486.20 and last traded at $485.77, with a volume of 294708 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $477.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $587.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $444.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $359.64. The firm has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.77.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $799.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.66, for a total value of $10,657,350.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 21,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.64, for a total value of $9,946,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,376.88. The trade was a 72.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 578,435 shares of company stock valued at $252,731,147 over the last quarter. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 125.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 88 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WealthCollab LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.