United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR Shares Sold by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its United Therapeutics stake by 54.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,912 shares and leaving it with 1,573 shares valued at about $933,000.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high at 94.08% of the company, with several other funds increasing or initiating positions in UTHR during the quarter.
• Analysts are still generally bullish on the stock: UTHR has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, though the company recently reported earnings and revenue that missed expectations.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 54.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,573 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 25,010 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003 shares during the last quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $7,323,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $50,403,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 28,421 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 156.7% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,653 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $648.33.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $528.47 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1-year low of $272.12 and a 1-year high of $609.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $547.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $531.39.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). The business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.58, for a total value of $5,785,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $10,921,276.08. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 513,333 shares of company stock worth $286,933,042. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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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