The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 26,840 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 37.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,783 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,840 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.22% of United Therapeutics worth $31,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 63.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.17.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $358.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $366.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $342.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.92.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.48). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at $947,597.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total value of $2,821,050.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,597.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total value of $8,084,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,350.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 107,652 shares of company stock valued at $35,785,807. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

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.