Brandes Investment Partners LP Decreases Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lowered its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 87.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 10,210 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in United Therapeutics by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.95, for a total value of $3,619,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,745.15. This trade 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 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UTHR. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of UTHR traded down $5.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $317.22. The stock had a trading volume of 233,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,121. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $358.27. The company has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

United Therapeutics 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.