Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 147.6% in Q4 to 4,101 shares worth about $1.998 million, and institutional investors now own 94.08% of the stock.
• Corporate insiders have been selling heavily — EVP Paul Mahon sold 8,300 shares and CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares, with insiders disposing of 356,320 shares (~$176.8 million) over the past 90 days while retaining a 10.30% ownership stake.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $549.91 target (UBS raised its target to $705); the stock trades near $522.83 (market cap ~$22.9B) after a recent quarterly EPS beat of $7.70 vs. $6.78 expected.

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 147.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 10.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,270 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 377.5% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,851 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 3.1% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $368,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.95, for a total transaction of $4,398,585.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,938,901.40. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.90, for a total value of $5,359,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,115,648.40. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 356,320 shares of company stock worth $176,808,253 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $522.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $495.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.13. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $266.98 and a 52 week high of $549.50.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased 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. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $466.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $549.91.

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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