Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires New Stake in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise opened a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter, buying 1,928 shares valued at about $939,000.
• United Therapeutics reported quarterly earnings of $5.82 per share, missing analyst expectations of $7.00, while revenue came in at $781.5 million, slightly below estimates and down 1.6% year over year.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts remain generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $619.42, and several firms recently raised their price targets or upgraded the shares.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,928 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $939,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $568.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.60. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $609.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $563.25 and its 200 day moving average is $511.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.63 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $619.42.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.98, for a total transaction of $5,376,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,929,547.74. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.11, for a total transaction of $5,641,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,648,140.36. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 569,913 shares of company stock worth $317,603,631 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.60% 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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