Insiders Could Have Profited By Holding onto United Therapeutics Shares Despite 14% Drop

United Therapeutics Corporation's (NASDAQ:UTHR) value has fallen 14% in the last week, but insiders who sold US$7.1m worth of stock over the last year have had less success. The average selling price of US$365 is still lower than the current share price, or in other words, insiders would have been better off holding on to their shares.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At United Therapeutics

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director & Member of the Scientific Advisory Board, Louis Sullivan, for US$4.2m worth of shares, at about US$382 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$283. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

United Therapeutics insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

View our latest analysis for United Therapeutics

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Does United Therapeutics Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that United Therapeutics insiders own 1.7% of the company, worth about US$223m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At United Therapeutics Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of United Therapeutics, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.