United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.54 EPS

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.54, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $677.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.31% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5 %

UTHR stock traded up $3.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $259.06. 463,840 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,637. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $204.44 and a 12-month high of $261.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $213.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total value of $1,291,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,880,130.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Patusky sold 1,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total transaction of $376,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total transaction of $1,291,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,880,130.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,190 shares of company stock valued at $32,643,561. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.