Moody National Bank Trust Division Reduces Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,381 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. This represents a 23.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $2,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,300. This trade represents a 52.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,630 shares of company stock worth $50,725,716. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $362.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.98.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.