United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Down 14.3% in December

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 2,240,000 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 317,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded down $7.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $358.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 248,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,993. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $208.62 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $367.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.73.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted 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 company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total value of $3,646,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $939,625.74. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.36, for a total value of $2,828,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,485,785.60. This represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,630 shares of company stock worth $54,371,916 in the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $336,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 42.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,135,000 after buying an additional 12,360 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 11.4% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,981 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. 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.