Ethic Inc. Invests $959,000 in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,718 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $959,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.93, for a total value of $3,310,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,068,506.33. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond Dwek sold 3,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.57, for a total value of $856,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,750 shares in the company, valued at $499,747.50. This trade represents a 63.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,500 shares of company stock worth $20,765,280 in the last quarter. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $314.00 price target (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.35. The company had a trading volume of 518,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,569. The company has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $340.58. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $264.33 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82.

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