Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,702 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $4,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,462,018,000 after buying an additional 18,313,424 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,567,253,000 after acquiring an additional 32,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $519,170,000 after acquiring an additional 393,777 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $401,184,000 after purchasing an additional 44,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,179,000 after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total transaction of $3,367,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,261,606.58. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.71, for a total transaction of $3,707,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $955,319.67. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,994,480. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock opened at $281.16 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.09. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $230.39 and a one year high of $417.82.

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. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

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.