Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation by 14.2% during the first quarter, now owning 6,613 shares valued at approximately $2,039,000.
• Analysts have varying opinions on UTHR, with Jefferies raising their target price from $432.00 to $564.00 and others adjusting theirs down; the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• United Therapeutics recently posted earnings per share of $6.41, missing estimates, with a revenue of $798.60 million, compared to expectations of $802.13 million.

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,613 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 1,095 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UTHR. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $101,354,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $83,533,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 198.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 350,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $107,635,000 after purchasing an additional 232,988 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 29,415.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 221,954 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $68,422,000 after purchasing an additional 221,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 46.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 465,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $143,381,000 after purchasing an additional 146,664 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $429.62.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded down $5.90 on Monday, reaching $394.62. 623,780 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,507. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $309.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.60. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $266.98 and a twelve month high of $436.95. The stock has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.62.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $798.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.United Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.21, for a total transaction of $4,237,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,409.01. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher Causey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.21, for a total transaction of $1,269,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,058,916.65. The trade was a 38.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,181 shares of company stock worth $35,537,239. Insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

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.