Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 189,967 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1,325.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 189,967 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $72,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 347.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 4.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $344,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 14.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,307,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock opened at $314.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $348.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $357.92. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $221.53 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $929,678.52. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,255 shares of company stock valued at $32,614,521 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

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.