Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 12,743 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in United Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,743 shares and ending with 143,624 shares valued at about $70.1 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on UTHR, with 11 Buy ratings and 2 Hold ratings and an average Moderate Buy consensus price target of $619.42.
• Recent insider activity has been heavy, including stock sales by CEO Martine A. Rothblatt and CFO James Edgemond, while the company also reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed expectations.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,624 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 12,743 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.33% of United Therapeutics worth $70,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leuthold Group LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $110,045,000 after buying an additional 70,445 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 88.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,960 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $13,136,000 after buying an additional 12,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in United Therapeutics by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,622 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $619.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 8,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total value of $4,708,812.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,158,119.40. The trade was a 31.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.61, for a total value of $5,268,795.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,468,914.93. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 613,218 shares of company stock worth $345,644,756. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: United Therapeutics agreed to acquire Thymmune Therapeutics for $140 million upfront, with up to $160 million in milestone payments. The deal adds Thymmune’s preclinical thymic cell therapy THY-100 and expands UTHR’s regenerative medicine platform, especially for organ transplantation tolerance and related immune disorders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view UTHR favorably overall, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating. That suggests the market still sees upside support despite recent volatility and insider sales. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Martine A. Rothblatt and EVP Paul Mahon both sold shares this week, which can create a modest overhang for investor sentiment, though these sales were disclosed and do not necessarily signal a change in the company’s fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: United Therapeutics recently reported quarterly results that missed analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, so investors may still be weighing the company’s strong long-term growth strategy against softer near-term execution. Article Title

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $555.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $609.35. The company's 50 day moving average price is $558.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.03.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 earnings per share for the current year.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation NASDAQ: UTHR is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company's primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.

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