United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR – Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, a decline of 45.1% from the September 15th total of 4,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 436,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.17.

View Our Latest Research Report on UTHR

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.03, for a total transaction of $1,180,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,643.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.03, for a total transaction of $1,180,908.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,643.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond Dwek sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $1,626,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $569,362.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,238 shares of company stock valued at $35,612,493 in the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,422,000 after acquiring an additional 262,222 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 567.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,700 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $178,972,000 after acquiring an additional 92,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of UTHR traded up $3.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $358.22. The stock had a trading volume of 160,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,526. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.78. The company has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $208.62 and a 1-year high of $366.08.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.48). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $691.87 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current year.

About United Therapeutics

(Get Free Report)

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.

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