Prudential PLC Cuts Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Prudential PLC cut its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,734 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $3,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 39,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,863,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after purchasing an additional 50,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $292.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.46. The company has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $230.39 and a twelve month high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.36 EPS. Analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,373.07. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Company 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.