Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,583 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,583 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of United Therapeutics worth $44,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $136,453,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 884,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $254,219,000 after acquiring an additional 419,588 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 40.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $362,876,000 after acquiring an additional 364,713 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,695,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $55,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $482.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.85. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $266.98 and a 1 year high of $519.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $414.00 to $423.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $470.95, for a total transaction of $10,596,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.89, for a total value of $3,900,087.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $17,283,024.09. This trade represents a 18.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 537,914 shares of company stock worth $257,813,558 in the last 90 days. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.