United Therapeutics Q2 Earnings Lag, Sales Top Estimates

United Therapeutics‘ UTHR second-quarter 2024 earnings of $5.85 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.33. Earnings rose 12% year over year on the back of higher product sales.

Revenues were $714.9 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $683.0 million. Revenues rose 20% year over year, driven by meaningful growth of all key products — Tyvaso, Orenitram, Remodulin and Unituxin.

United Therapeutics' shares were down 4% in pre-market trading on Jul 31, likely due to the earnings miss.

Year to date, the stock has surged 53.5% against the industry's 2.5% decline.

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Quarter in Detail

United Therapeutics markets four products for pulmonary arterial hypertension — Remodulin, Tyvaso, Adcirca and Orenitram. 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. These 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 $258.3 million, up 33% year over, while sales from nebulized Tyvaso were $139.9 million, up 12%.

Overall, Tyvaso sales were $398.2 million, up 25% 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 $385 million and our model estimate of $362 million.

Remodulin (including Remunity Pump) sales rose 16% year over year to $147.3 million, while Orenitram sales rose 13% year over year to $107.1 million.

Unituxin sales rose 17% year over year to $51.7 million. Adcirca sales were $5.7 million, down 24%.

Research and development expenses were $139.6 million in the quarter, up 57% year over year. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 37% to $177.6 million in the quarter.

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 indication (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.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

United Therapeuticscurrently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Some better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector are Entrada Therapeutics TRDA, Immatics IMTX and Halozyme Therapeutics HALO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Entrada Therapeutics' 2024 loss per share have improved from 14 cents to 13 cents. Estimates for 2025 have improved from $3.44 to $3.21 during the same period. Year to date, shares of Entrada Therapeuticshave risen 12.0%.

Earnings of Entrada Therapeutics beat estimates in two of the last four quarters while missing the mark on two other occasions. Entrada delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 42.18%.

In the past 60 days, the loss per share estimates for Immatics have improved from $1.26 to $1.25 for 2024. During the same period, loss estimates for 2025 have improved from $1.49 to $1.41. Year to date, shares of IMTX have risen 12.8%.

Earnings of Immatics beat estimates in three of the last four quarters while meeting the mark on one occasion, delivering a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 32.57%.

In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Halozyme Therapeutics' earnings has risen from $3.69 per share to $3.90. For 2025, earnings estimates have increased from $4.50 to $4.81 in the past 60 days. Year to date, shares of HALO have surged 50.7%.

Earnings of Halozyme beat estimates in three of the last four quarters while meeting the mark on one occasion, delivering a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 9.40%.

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