Hilltop National Bank Takes $341,000 Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank recently acquired a stake in United Therapeutics Corporation, purchasing 1,187 shares valued at approximately $341,000 during the second quarter.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiments about United Therapeutics, with price targets ranging from $328 to $575 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider trading activity included CEO Martine A. Rothblatt and EVP Paul A. Mahon selling a combined total of 15,000 shares, reflecting significant decreases in their respective holdings.

Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,187 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,374,001,000 after purchasing an additional 15,312 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $192,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 518,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $159,823,000 after purchasing an additional 89,290 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,757 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,278,000 after purchasing an additional 87,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 465,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $143,381,000 after purchasing an additional 146,664 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.57.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $453.07 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $266.98 and a fifty-two week high of $455.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.01. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.66.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.85 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.88, for a total value of $1,739,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,534.40. This trade represents a 96.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.60, for a total value of $4,802,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,058,584.60. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 238,435 shares of company stock worth $93,353,482. Insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company 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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