Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 301 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,526 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 301 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $3,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 26.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,119 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 22.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $316.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $343.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,755 shares of company stock valued at $29,792,021. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.