Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,084 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 12,872 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of United Therapeutics worth $13,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 663 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total transaction of $3,367,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,261,606.58. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,054,780 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UTHR. Bank of America upgraded United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price objective (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.00.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $309.31. 95,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,449. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $264.33 and a 52-week high of $417.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.31. The firm has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.34. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.82 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics 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.