United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,931 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 33,986 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of United Therapeutics worth $17,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $91,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 504 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 670 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,756.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total value of $1,291,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,880,130.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 141,790 shares of company stock worth $33,572,685. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.78.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded up $4.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $262.40. 779,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,646. The company has a quick ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.20. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $204.44 and a twelve month high of $262.51.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $677.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The business's revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.