Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 739 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.0% during 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. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 1.8% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total value of $192,081.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,115.25. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total transaction of $93,722.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,293.30. This trade represents a 67.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 117,496 shares of company stock worth $43,765,042 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $372.89 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.37.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.