United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,064 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 379 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Comerica Bank increased its position in United Therapeutics by 2,697.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 156,587 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after buying an additional 150,989 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 312,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,781,000 after buying an additional 67,738 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in United Therapeutics by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 260,412 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,819,000 after buying an additional 61,543 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in United Therapeutics by 840.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 68,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,381,000 after buying an additional 60,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 697.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 51,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,576,000 after buying an additional 44,820 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.78.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $266.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $204.44 and a 12-month high of $266.65.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $677.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.31 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 2,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.91, for a total value of $582,198.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,087,723.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.80, for a total transaction of $77,285.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,277,699.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher Causey sold 2,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.91, for a total value of $582,198.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,723.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,630 shares of company stock worth $35,089,803 over the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.