Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its stake in United Therapeutics by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 97,199 shares and ending with 241,872 shares valued at about $117.9 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CFO James Edgemond and COO Michael Benkowitz both selling shares, while insiders sold a total of 501,913 shares worth $278.2 million over the last quarter.
• United Therapeutics reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue expectations, even as analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $619.42.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,872 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 97,199 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.56% of United Therapeutics worth $117,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 833 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,126 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.5% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 356 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 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 Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total value 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 approximately $9,956,712.48. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.13, for a total value of $6,817,557.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 501,913 shares of company stock valued at $278,169,037 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

United Therapeutics stock opened at $579.54 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $272.12 and a 52 week high of $609.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $554.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.54. The stock has a market cap of $24.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.60.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 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 business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.63 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $619.42.

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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