Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 27,829 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,276 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,829 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.24% of United Therapeutics worth $33,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,462,018,000 after buying an additional 18,313,424 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,567,253,000 after acquiring an additional 32,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $519,170,000 after purchasing an additional 393,777 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $401,184,000 after purchasing an additional 44,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 975,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $344,176,000 after purchasing an additional 7,710 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.37, for a total value of $3,904,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,353.66. The trade was a 59.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.78, for a total value of $3,121,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $10,437,712.18. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $20,828,390 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $4.89 on Wednesday, reaching $276.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,450,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,667. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $300.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.46. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $321.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $393.08.

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.