Wedmont Private Capital Takes $466,000 Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $139,206,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $386,168,000 after purchasing an additional 314,004 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $150,492,000 after buying an additional 152,249 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after buying an additional 123,929 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $178,972,000 after buying an additional 92,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $361.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $2,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,978 shares in the company, valued at $2,442,300. This trade represents a 52.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.36, for a total transaction of $2,828,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,485,785.60. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,630 shares of company stock valued at $54,371,916 over the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.