United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stake Raised by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 85.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,312 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,206,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $386,168,000 after buying an additional 314,004 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 577.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,962,000 after buying an additional 161,751 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after buying an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 343,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $123,181,000 after purchasing an additional 84,369 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $317.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $353.73 and its 200-day moving average is $359.80. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $221.53 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,678.52. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.