United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.71, for a total value of $3,707,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $955,319.67. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. This trade represents a 23.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,838 shares of company stock valued at $50,445,556. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $352.66. 139,156 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,021. United Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $365.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.78.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. TD Cowen raised their price target on 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 United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.36.

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.