Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 430,122 United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 430,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,764,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $131,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total transaction of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.