Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 164 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $131,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total transaction of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,950.62. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,255 shares of company stock valued at $28,995,021 over the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $312.99 on Monday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $221.53 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $345.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $357.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 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.