Element Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 8,772 United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics, purchasing 8,772 shares valued at approximately $2.70 million in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in United Therapeutics, contributing to institutional ownership now being at 94.08% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts' price targets for United Therapeutics have varied, with revisions from firms like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co., indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $382.00.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,772 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,704,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,374,001,000 after buying an additional 15,312 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 975,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $344,176,000 after buying an additional 7,710 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $192,571,000 after buying an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 20.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 518,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $159,823,000 after buying an additional 89,290 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 488,854 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $172,487,000 after buying an additional 110,298 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded up $1.07 on Friday, reaching $313.13. 703,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,087. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $295.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.49. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $417.82. The company has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.99, for a total transaction of $187,043.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,021.17. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Giltner sold 3,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.60, for a total transaction of $879,225.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,384 shares in the company, valued at $5,613,606.40. This trade represents a 13.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,681 shares of company stock valued at $24,618,359 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $321.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $295.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. HC Wainwright set a $400.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $382.00.

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.