KBC Group NV Purchases 7,169 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 123,055 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,169 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.28% of United Therapeutics worth $43,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UTHR. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total transaction of $3,649,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,373.07. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total transaction of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. This trade represents a 83.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,048 shares of company stock valued at $52,435,099. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $369.56 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57.

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