Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation by 35.8%, owning approximately $140.26 million in shares at the end of Q1.
• The stock opened at $380.47, with a market cap of $17.16 billion, and reported earnings per share of $6.41 for the latest quarter.
• Insider transactions showed directors selling shares, with 10.30% of the stock now held by insiders, and various analysts have given mixed ratings on the stock, with target prices ranging from $330.00 to $463.00.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,983 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 254,060 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.01% of United Therapeutics worth $140,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $49,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 103.2% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of UTHR traded down $5.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $394.62. The stock had a trading volume of 623,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,507. The company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average is $307.69 and its 200 day moving average is $305.37. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $436.95.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.85 EPS. Research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Richard Giltner sold 3,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.60, for a total transaction of $879,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,384 shares in the company, valued at $5,613,606.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.64, for a total transaction of $9,396,900.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 106,181 shares of company stock valued at $35,537,239. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTHR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $429.62.

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.