Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 2,401 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 12.1% in Q1, buying 2,401 additional shares and bringing its total to 22,269 shares worth about $13.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in the biotech company, and 94.08% of UTHR shares are held by institutions.
• United Therapeutics reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $5.82 missing expectations of $7.00 and revenue of $781.5 million also coming in below estimates; meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $644.82.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,269 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of United Therapeutics worth $13,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 18.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 443 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 77.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,628 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.61, for a total value of $5,726,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,808,586.36. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 564,743 shares of company stock valued at $316,423,257 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $552.97 and a 200 day moving average of $530.10. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $644.82.

United Therapeutics Profile

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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