United Therapeutics UTHR shares rallied 10.7% in the last trading session to close at $529.17. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 1.5% loss over the past four weeks.
Shares rose in response to the company’s announcement of a new $2 billion buyback program. This includes initial $1.5 billion accelerated share repurchase agreements with Citibank, with the remaining amount of up to $500 million available for additional repurchases at United Therapeutics’ discretion. Several investors cheered this news, as this indicates the continued strength of its marketed drugs.
This drugmaker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $6.72 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +1.4%. Revenues are expected to be $809.15 million, up 1.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For United Therapeutics, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4.1% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on UTHR going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
United Therapeutics is part of the Zacks Medical - Drugs industry. Korro Bio, Inc. KRRO, another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 10% higher at $12.3. KRRO has returned -11.1% in the past month.
For Korro Bio, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$1.93. This represents a change of +14.6% from what the company reported a year ago. Korro Bio, Inc. currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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United Therapeutics Corporation (UTHR): Free Stock Analysis Report Korro Bio, Inc. (KRRO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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