Anchyra Partners LLC Buys New Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Anchyra Partners LLC bought a new position of 1,947 shares in United Therapeutics in Q4 (about $949,000), joining other large institutional buyers; institutional ownership stands at 94.08%.
• Several analysts have raised price targets (TD Cowen and HC Wainwright to $660, RBC to $643), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $601.50.
• Insiders have been heavy sellers—420,705 shares (~$226.25M) sold in the past 90 days, including recent EVP and CFO sales—while the company reported an EPS beat ($7.70 vs. $6.78) but slightly missed revenue expectations.

Anchyra Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,947 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $317,617,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $157,390,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 863.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 152,727 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $43,886,000 after buying an additional 136,883 shares during the period. Sofinnova Investments Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,055,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,167,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $486.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $471.00 to $519.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $587.00 to $643.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $601.50.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $567.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.75. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $272.12 and a 52 week high of $607.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $536.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.61.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.The company had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.19 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $576.82, for a total value of $4,787,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,056,113.04. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 9,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.21, for a total value of $5,513,815.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,801,035.96. The trade was a 33.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 420,705 shares of company stock worth $226,250,141. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation NASDAQ: UTHR is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company's primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.

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