HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation by 8.1%, acquiring an additional 1,530 shares, bringing its total holdings to 20,362 shares worth $6,277,000.
• Several large investors made significant changes to their positions in United Therapeutics during the first quarter, increasing institutional ownership to 94.08%.
• Despite reporting earnings of $6.41 per share for the last quarter, United Therapeutics missed expectations and saw revenue of $798.60 million, which was below analyst estimates.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,362 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mariner LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,408 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 869 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. HC Wainwright set a $400.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $295.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $321.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $382.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Giltner sold 3,036 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 19,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,613,606.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.96, for a total value of $3,079,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,297,208.76. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,681 shares of company stock valued at $28,014,609 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

UTHR stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $312.23. 576,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 751,685. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.67.

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