United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC cut its stake in United Therapeutics sharply, trimming holdings by 75.9% in the fourth quarter and leaving it with 1,472 shares valued at about $717,000.
• United Therapeutics reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $5.82 per share falling short of the $7.00 consensus and revenue of $781.5 million slightly below estimates. Revenue also declined 1.6% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including CFO James Edgemond and CEO Martine A. Rothblatt, while analysts remain generally constructive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.42.

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 75.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,472 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,636 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in United Therapeutics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 833 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 2.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,126 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $544.69 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1-year low of $272.12 and a 1-year high of $609.35. The stock has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $519.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The company had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.63 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.28, for a total value of $5,462,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,311,581.28. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.62, for a total transaction of $5,202,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,185,729.06. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 624,043 shares of company stock worth $351,930,785 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $619.42.

United Therapeutics 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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