Aurora Investment Counsel Purchases Shares of 6,585 United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,585 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,030,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UTHR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,567,253,000 after purchasing an additional 32,213 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $519,170,000 after purchasing an additional 393,777 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 975,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $344,176,000 after purchasing an additional 7,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $250,179,000 after buying an additional 157,363 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Giltner sold 3,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.60, for a total transaction of $879,225.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,613,606.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.37, for a total value of $3,904,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,353.66. The trade was a 59.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 84,681 shares of company stock worth $25,261,669 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded down $4.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.24. 303,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,772. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.53. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $417.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $300.99 and its 200-day moving average is $319.11.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.34. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 40.44%. The firm had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.17 EPS. United Therapeutics's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UTHR. UBS Group dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $410.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $321.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.08.

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.