Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,814 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $312.99 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $345.10 and a 200-day moving average of $356.99. The company has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,255 shares of company stock worth $32,614,521 in the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.