Back to top

Image: Bigstock

United Therapeutics Q3 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates

Read MoreHide Full Article

United Therapeutics’ (UTHR - Free Report) third-quarter 2024 earnings of $6.39 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.18. Earnings rose 19% year over year on the back of higher product sales.

Revenues totaled $748.9 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $717.5 million. Revenues rose 23% year over year, driven by meaningful growth of key products — Tyvaso, Orenitram and Unituxin.

See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.

More on UTHR’s Earnings

United Therapeutics markets four products for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — Tyvaso, Orenitram, Adcirca and Remodulin. It also markets Unituxin for treating pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.

The company markets two versions of Tyvaso — Tyvaso dry powder inhalation (DPI) and nebulized Tyvaso. Both versions are approved for PAH and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) indications. The DPI version is less time-consuming to administer and more mobile and convenient than the nebulized one. Tyvaso DPI recorded sales of $274.6 million, up 34% year over year, while sales from nebulized Tyvaso were $159.2 million, up 32%.

Overall, Tyvaso sales were $433.8 million, up 33% year over year, driven by higher volumes and continued growth in commercialization utilization by PH-ILD patients. This reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $410 million and our model estimate of $375 million.

Year to date, shares of United Therapeutics have surged 70.0% against the industry’s 5.2% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Remodulin (including Remunity Pump) sales fell 2% year over year to $128.3 million due to a decline in the drug’s ex-U.S. sales.

Sales of Orenitram rose 23% year over year to $113.2 million, driven by increased demand for the drug.

Unituxin sales rose 19% year over year to $61.1 million. Adcirca sales were $7.0 million, down 4%.

Research and development expenses were $103.5 million in the quarter, up 22% year over year, driven by increased expenditures related to manufactured organ and organ alternative projects.

Selling, general and administrative expenses surged 72% to $219.2 million in the quarter. This uptick was due to an increase in personnel expenses.

UTHR’s Pipeline & Other Update

United Therapeutics’ key phase III programs include Tyvaso in patients with various forms of chronic fibrosing interstitial lung disease (TETON studies) and oral ralinepag in PAH indications (ADVANCE OUTCOMES study).

Both the TETON 1 and TETON 2 studies are registrational late-stage studies that are parallel in design to each other. The only difference is that while the TETON 1 study is being conducted at sites located in the United States and Canada, the TETON 2 study is being conducted at sites outside these two countries. If the drug is approved in IPF indication, management expects Tyvaso sales in IPF indication to exceed the drug’s sales in PAH indication.

In October 2023, the company started the phase III TETON PPF study to evaluate Tyvaso in patients with progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF).

Enrollment is currently ongoing in the TETON 1 and ADVANCE OUTCOMES studies.

UTHR’s Zacks Rank

United Therapeuticscurrently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Key Picks Among Biotech Stocks

Some better-ranked stocks from the sector are Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD - Free Report) , Elevation Oncology (ELEV - Free Report) and Castle Biosciences (CSTL - Free Report) . While FOLD and ELEV currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, CSTL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Amicus Therapeutics’ 2024 earnings per share (EPS) have moved up from 21 to 22 cents. EPS estimates for 2025 have increased from 50 to 53 cents during the same period. Year to date, shares of FOLD have lost 18.4%.

FOLD’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, delivering an average surprise of 23.96%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Elevation Oncology’s 2024 loss per share have narrowed from 86 to 82 cents. Loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from 90 to 86 cents during the same time. Year to date, shares of ELEV have rallied 11.7%.

ELEV’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, the average surprise being 12.05%.

In the past 90 days, estimates for Castle Biosciences’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $1.28 to 59 cents. Year to date, shares of Castle Biosciences have surged 60.1%.

CSTL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 132.32%.

Published in