ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 54.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,935 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total transaction of $3,367,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,261,606.58. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $929,678.52. This trade represents a 79.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,054,780 in the last quarter. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.0%

United Therapeutics stock opened at $309.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $264.33 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $300.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.31.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.82 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. United Therapeutics's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $314.00 price objective (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on United Therapeutics from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $392.00.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.

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