BENKOWITZ MICHAEL 4
Research Summary
AI-generated summary
UNITED THERAPEUTICS President Michael Benkowitz Exercises Options, Sells Shares
What Happened
Michael Benkowitz, President and COO of United Therapeutics (UTHR), exercised stock options and immediately sold the resulting shares on February 9, 2026. He exercised 14,625 options at $117.76 (cost $1,722,240) and 7,875 options at $146.03 (cost $1,149,986), producing 22,500 shares that were sold on the open market at $474.65 per share for total proceeds of $10,679,686. Net of the exercise costs (~$2,872,226), the gross cash difference was about $7.81M. The transactions were reported on a Form 4 filed Feb 10, 2026.
Key Details
- Transaction date: February 9, 2026. Sale price: $474.65 per share. Exercise prices: $117.76 and $146.03.
- Shares sold: 22,500 (14,625 + 7,875). Sale proceeds: $10,679,686. Exercise cost: $2,872,226.
- Some derivative lines show "Disposed" at $0, reflecting removal/settlement of option positions after exercise. (Reporting code M = option exercise; S = sale.)
- Footnotes: F1 — the exercise and sale were pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established June 3, 2025. F2/F3 — the exercised options and resulting share sales involve trusts beneficially owned by Benkowitz (one trust where he and his spouse are co-trustees; another where family members are beneficiaries and he has sole investment/voting power).
- Filing appears timely (Form 4 filed Feb 10 for Feb 9 transactions).
- The filing excerpt does not state Benkowitz’s total UTHR shares owned after these transactions.
Context
- This was effectively a cashless outcome: options were exercised and the resulting shares were sold the same day, so these are routine option exercises followed by sales under a pre-established 10b5-1 plan rather than an open-ended buy or sell decision.
- Sales by executives can be for diversification, tax, or liquidity reasons; such transactions are common when options vest and do not by themselves indicate management’s forward-looking view.