First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.44 Million Stake in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation by 92.7% during the second quarter, owning 5,007 shares now valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 322,935 shares of United Therapeutics in the last quarter, with significant sales from both EVP Paul A. Mahon and CEO Martine A. Rothblatt.
• Analysts have varied target price assessments for United Therapeutics, with estimates ranging from $330 to $575, reflecting a generally positive outlook with an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 92.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,007 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,179 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 17.9% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 226,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,757,000 after acquiring an additional 34,362 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 139.8% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,842 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 61.1% in the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 59,180 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,243,000 after acquiring an additional 22,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 11.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.50, for a total transaction of $4,746,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $15,871,001.50. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.15, for a total value of $1,688,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,879.50. This represents a 96.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 322,935 shares of company stock worth $133,361,282 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $461.62.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $426.21 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $266.98 and a 52 week high of $459.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $395.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.38.

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

United Therapeutics 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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