Here's that Bizjournals article. Good article, but it's a nuisance to try to read from the hotlink if you use an adblocker:
One of the D.C. region’s largest biotechs is working to be among the first publicly traded companies in its industry to convert to a
public benefit corporation — an entity that must answer to both shareholders and society at large.United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR) will seek approval from those shareholders at a Sept. 30 meeting to make the change in its certificate of incorporation, after which it would not only report financial results but
also its effect on environmental, social and governance priorities on a regular basis. Company officials say the legal change will not alter its business or leadership strategy.
“This is a natural evolutionary step for us, and not meant to herald a change in our future growth strategy,” said John Hess, executive vice president for the 25-year-old Silver Spring company.
If its public benefit mission is to treat more patients, he said, that also serves its revenue model well. United Therapeutics develops and sells a line of drugs aimed at treating pulmonary arterial hypertension through a variety of methods, including injection, inhalation, infusion and tablets. It generated $825.6 million in total revenue in the first half of 2021, a 15% bump from the same period of 2020.
Hess said founder and
CEO Martine Rothblatt will remain at the helm of the company, and its board makeup won’t change.
The move for the larger company follows
a similar conversion to a public benefit corporation by its largest subsidiary, Lung Biotechnology, in 2015. That arm conducts the company’s growing research and development in
organ manufacturing and xenotransplantation, or transplanting organs, cells or tissues from one species to another, to help increase the organ supply. As part of its work,
the 120-person subsidiary developed genetically modified, pathogen-free pig organs that extended the animals' lives by more than six months, according to a
new corporate responsibility report United Therapeutics released Friday.Hess said he considers Lung Biotechnology’s conversion to a PBC as sort of a “
pilot phase” for parent United Therapeutics, which was reluctant to make the switch at the same time. But now, “we know this corporate structure well,” he said. “Our board of directors had that six-year time frame to get comfortable with it.”
While the company acknowledges in federal filings such a switch can increase the risk of litigation,
it sees it as a significantly bigger recruiting and retention tool for a generation that they say is as focused on social welfare as it is on its own financial welfare. “We expect millennials will soon be the biggest segment of our workforce,” Hess said. “
We need to hire the best and brightest and these folks can go work and take their talents to a number of different places.”
RECOMMENDEDUnited Therapeutics has talked about ambitious
plans to double the size of the company, now at nearly 1,000 employees, 230 of them based locally. Hess said that also extends to its physical footprint as it plans more longer-term R&D programs that will require more real estate, some of it on land it already owns, but some on other parcels it would buy in the future —
particularly if and when the company ventures further into the business of manufacturing and delivering transplantable organs for patients.
If it adopts the new corporate status, the company said
it can also potentially attract more socially focused investors and investments as well. For now, the biotech awaits word from the Food and Drug Administration in October on its application to start selling Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder version of its pulmonary hypertension drug. Between that and efforts to expand applications for its existing drugs,
United Therapeutics hopes to beat out the increasing threat of generic drug competition that’s been slowly eating away at its potential revenue during the last two years. The local company has spent much of that time in legal battles against the generics manufacturers to keep their products from entering the market.
Here is the Marketbeat article:SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 | MARKETBEAT
Short Interest in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Rises By 68.8%
United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) was the recipient of a
large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, an increase of 68.8% from the August 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Currently, 7.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 331,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.8 days.
In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Causey sold 2,610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $548,100.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.94, for a total transaction of $1,265,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,937,316.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,610 shares of company stock valued at $3,038,220. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company's stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eaton Vance Management purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 94.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of United Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 20th. Argus upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.78.
Shares of UTHR opened at $200.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 7.44, a quick ratio of 7.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.39. United Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $98.37 and a 12-month high of $216.90.
United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $446.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.54 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 29.60% and a return on equity of 13.69%. United Therapeutics's revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
