Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,880 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UTHR. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 94,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,617,000 after buying an additional 33,338 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,698 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,427,000 after acquiring an additional 23,532 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 15,642 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 5,622 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $2,903,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.9% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total transaction of $1,291,860.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,880,130.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.70, for a total value of $934,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $33,761. 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 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,880,130.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,630 shares of company stock worth $35,089,803 in the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.78.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $5.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.09. 526,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,886. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $204.44 and a twelve month high of $268.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $239.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.10.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The business had revenue of $677.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.88 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.