Have Insiders Sold United Therapeutics Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Judy Olian, the Independent Director recently netted about US$722k selling shares at an average price of US$412. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 24%, which is notable but not too bad.

See our latest analysis for United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Judy Olian was the biggest sale of United Therapeutics shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$363. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

United Therapeutics insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Does United Therapeutics Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that United Therapeutics insiders own 1.8% of the company, worth about US$291m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The United Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold United Therapeutics shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, United Therapeutics makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing United Therapeutics. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of United Therapeutics.

But note: United Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.