VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al has acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics Corporation, purchasing 194,000 shares valued at approximately $55.7 million, representing 0.43% ownership in the company.
• United Therapeutics reported earnings of $6.41 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.39, but achieved an 11.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $798.6 million.
• A majority of investment analysts rate United Therapeutics as a "Moderate Buy", with ten analysts assigned a Buy rating and a consensus price target of $457.21.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 194,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $55,746,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.43% of United Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,179 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,830,000 after buying an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the first quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 226,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,757,000 after acquiring an additional 34,362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.2%

UTHR opened at $433.34 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $459.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $385.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $328.04. The company has a market cap of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.66.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The firm had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $569.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $328.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.21.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.64, for a total value of $9,396,900.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $3,396,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,356,133.75. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 292,435 shares of company stock worth $118,956,307. 10.30% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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