New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 3,936 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in United Therapeutics (UTHR) by 7.2%, selling 3,936 shares and leaving it with 50,872 shares worth about $24.79 million (≈0.12% of the company).
• Brokerages have been raising targets—UBS to $705, BofA to $626 and Oppenheimer to $600—resulting in an average price target of $601.50 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insiders have been sizable net sellers: CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares and a director sold 2,910, with insiders offloading 469,205 shares (~$253.9M) over the last quarter; insiders now own 10.30% of the stock.

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,872 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 3,936 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of United Therapeutics worth $24,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 125.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 88 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $486.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $601.50.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $570.40 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $543.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.82. The company has a market cap of $25.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52-week low of $272.12 and a 52-week high of $607.89.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $790.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 41.94%.United Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.22, for a total value of $5,426,590.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,141,835.86. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher Patusky sold 2,910 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.00, for a total value of $1,655,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $847,810. This represents a 66.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 469,205 shares of company stock valued at $253,860,521. 10.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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