MetLife Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,150 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of United Therapeutics worth $8,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 663 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,214,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price objective (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.17.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $5.04 on Friday, reaching $291.38. 311,498 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 448,048. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $308.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.42. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $233.31 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.36 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Raymond Dwek sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.55, for a total value of $1,138,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $497,962.50. This represents a 69.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $3,367,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,261,606.58. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,500 shares of company stock worth $28,179,150 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About United Therapeutics

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.