Vident Advisory LLC Raises Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,221 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $4,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $162,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price target (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.00.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $307.65. 269,594 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,590. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $264.33 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58. The business's fifty day moving average price is $299.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.93, for a total value of $3,310,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,506.33. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. The trade was a 22.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,054,780 in the last three months. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.