Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. has acquired 915 shares of United Therapeutics Corporation, valued at approximately $263,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the biotechnology firm.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for United Therapeutics, with Jefferies Financial Group raising its target from $432 to $564, indicating strong confidence in the company's stock.
• Numerous insiders have sold shares of United Therapeutics recently, with Executive Vice President Paul A. Mahon selling 11,000 shares for about $3.4 million, representing a significant decrease in his holdings.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 915 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 103.2% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $414.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $461.62.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock opened at $426.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $395.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.38. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $459.48. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $3,396,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,133.75. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 322,935 shares of company stock valued at $133,361,282. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.

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