United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has reduced its stake in United Therapeutics by 16.6%, holding 39,295 shares valued at approximately $12 million after selling 7,841 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions included CFO James Edgemond selling 12,000 shares for about $3.9 million, resulting in a 59.65% decrease in his ownership.
• United Therapeutics reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter with EPS of $6.41, lower than the projected $6.80, alongside revenues of $798.6 million.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,841 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.09% of United Therapeutics worth $12,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 103.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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 objective on United Therapeutics and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on United Therapeutics from $321.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $382.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 645 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.99, for a total transaction of $187,043.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,021.17. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard Giltner sold 3,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.60, for a total value of $879,225.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,613,606.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,681 shares of company stock valued at $28,014,609. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $312.23. 576,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 751,685. The company has a 50 day moving average of $297.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.34. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.98 and a 52-week high of $417.82.

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

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.