Swiss National Bank Lowers Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of United Therapeutics worth $42,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 20.9% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 59.2% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,942,000 after buying an additional 14,465 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 33.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,136,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 347.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6 %

UTHR stock opened at $307.24 on Monday. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $221.53 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $349.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $358.53.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,678.52. This represents 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 Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UTHR. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Profile

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.