Ledyard National Bank Takes $1.37 Million Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake of 2,820 shares in United Therapeutics in Q4 valued at approximately $1.37 million, and institutional investors now own about 94.08% of the company.
• Company insiders have been heavy sellers — CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares (≈$5.27M) and COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares, with insiders selling 367,770 shares worth about $187.7M over the past 90 days; insiders currently own 10.30% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive, with several firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $586; United Therapeutics reported Q4 EPS $7.70 (beat) but revenue of $790.2M (slightly below estimates).

Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,820 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,374,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,102 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total transaction of $5,274,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $9,956,712.48. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $10,788,975.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 367,770 shares of company stock valued at $187,734,005. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $486.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.00.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $581.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.75. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $266.98 and a fifty-two week high of $607.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $512.49 and a 200 day moving average of $482.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.78 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS 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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