United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake in United Therapeutics by 2.7% in Q4, selling 2,546 shares and now holds 92,156 shares (about 0.21%) valued at roughly $44.9 million.
• Significant insider selling: CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares and CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares on April 13, and insiders have disposed of 385,470 shares (~$201 million) over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with 10.30% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $601.50 after multiple upward price-target revisions, while the company reported an EPS beat of $7.70 vs. $6.78 for the quarter (revenue slightly below expectations).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,156 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 2,546 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of United Therapeutics worth $44,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $317,617,000. Soleus Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.0% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 209,794 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $60,284,000 after purchasing an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 199,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $83,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 49.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 155,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,147,000 after purchasing an additional 51,290 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 863.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 152,727 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $43,886,000 after purchasing an additional 136,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $486.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $601.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.88, for a total transaction of $5,748,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,851,434.88. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.86, for a total transaction of $5,461,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,289,303.18. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,470 shares of company stock worth $200,956,248. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $577.58 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $607.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $522.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.71.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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