Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,055 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $44,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at $947,597.55. This trade represents a 74.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.41, for a total value of $93,722.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,293.30. This trade represents a 67.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,796 shares of company stock worth $40,936,370. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.0 %

United Therapeutics stock opened at $364.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $363.86 and a 200-day moving average of $330.33. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.