United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 94.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UTHR. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,462,018,000 after purchasing an additional 18,313,424 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,567,253,000 after acquiring an additional 32,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $519,170,000 after purchasing an additional 393,777 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $401,184,000 after purchasing an additional 44,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $250,179,000 after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $3,536,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,330.28. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 74,500 shares of company stock valued at $24,472,050 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of UTHR stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $302.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 95,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,518. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $304.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.39. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $236.65 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $726.82 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $357.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price target (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.17.

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.