Insider Selling: United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Sells $3,646,200.00 in Stock

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, December 30th, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00.
• On Monday, December 23rd, Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total value 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $374.46, for a total value of $5,504,562.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $366.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $369.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.37.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UTHR. HC Wainwright upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $90,000. 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.