AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 161,751 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 577.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 161,751 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.43% of United Therapeutics worth $66,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,375,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. JSF Financial LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 6,925.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 28,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,904,000 after acquiring an additional 27,700 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total value of $3,727,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $960,576.75. 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,864 shares of company stock worth $48,227,465. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1 %

UTHR stock traded up $7.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $380.78. 564,844 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,223. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $362.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $359.89. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.75 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $382.08.

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.