Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 5,124 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services cut its United Therapeutics stake by 97.8% in the second quarter, selling 5,124 shares and retaining just 115 shares valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.08% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 11 Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $646.00.
• United Therapeutics reported quarterly EPS of $7.27, beating estimates of $6.86, though revenue of $783.3 million missed expectations and declined 1.9% year over year. Shares opened at $498.48, below their 12-month high of $609.35.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 97.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 5,124 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $62,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,751 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 2,761 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $836,000. BAM Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 22.2% in the second quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $112,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $646.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $498.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day moving average price is $517.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.68. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $397.97 and a 12 month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The company had revenue of $783.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.60, for a total value of $5,173,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $22,063,379.80. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 346,503 shares of company stock worth $181,419,447 over the last ninety days. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for serious and life-threatening conditions, with a primary emphasis on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company's products are designed to improve pulmonary blood flow and reduce the effects of this progressive disease.

United Therapeutics' PAH portfolio includes Remodulin (treprostinil) injection, Orenitram (treprostinil) extended-release tablets, and Tyvaso (treprostinil), which is available as an inhalation solution and as the Tyvaso DPI dry-powder inhaler.

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