Empowered Funds LLC Sells 23,607 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC cut its United Therapeutics position by 53.2% in the first quarter, selling 23,607 shares and retaining 20,784 shares valued at approximately $12.3 million.
• Institutional investors own about 94.1% of UTHR, while analysts remain broadly positive: 11 rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $648.33.
• United Therapeutics’ latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $5.82 versus $7.00 expected and revenue down 1.6% year over year; however, promising ralinepag trial results could strengthen its future pulmonary arterial hypertension pipeline.

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 53.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,784 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 23,607 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $12,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,711 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,418,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,269,803,000 after purchasing an additional 383,838 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $387,801,000 after buying an additional 341,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,390,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on UTHR. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price target on United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $648.33.

More United Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Promising ralinepag trial results: The Lancet published full results from United Therapeutics’ ADVANCE OUTCOMES study. Investigational pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment ralinepag reduced the risk of clinical worsening by 55% versus placebo, improving the company’s potential pipeline outlook. Ralinepag is not yet approved by the FDA, so regulatory and commercialization risks remain. United Therapeutics Announces ADVANCE OUTCOMES Study of Ralinepag Published in The Lancet
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Eleven analysts rate UTHR a Buy and two rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. The average price target is $648.33, with JPMorgan recently raising its target to $687 and HC Wainwright increasing its target to $660. United Therapeutics Given Average Rating of Moderate Buy by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own approximately 94.1% of UTHR’s shares. Several institutions increased their positions during the second quarter, signaling continued professional-investor interest, although this does not guarantee further gains. United Therapeutics Insider Trading Report
• Negative Sentiment: CEO stock sale may pressure sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares for roughly $5.04 million, reducing her direct stake by 2.84%. She still owns a substantial position, so the transaction may reflect liquidity or diversification rather than a negative view of the business, but insider selling can weigh on investor confidence. Insider Selling United Therapeutics CEO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Recent operating results were below expectations: United Therapeutics previously reported quarterly earnings and revenue below consensus, with revenue declining 1.6% year over year. That performance remains a concern despite the company’s strong profitability and promising pipeline.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.58, for a total transaction of $5,785,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $10,921,276.08. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 502,833 shares of company stock valued at $279,835,157 over the last three months. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.2%

United Therapeutics stock opened at $524.70 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $545.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $532.24. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $609.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About United Therapeutics

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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