Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 13,000 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 94.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,098,000 after buying an additional 2,702 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in United Therapeutics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 39,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $13,863,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,326,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $68,999,000 after acquiring an additional 50,291 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $3,536,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,330.28. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.78, for a total transaction of $3,121,580.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,437,712.18. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,500 shares of company stock valued at $24,472,050 over the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on UTHR. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $314.00 price target (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on United Therapeutics from $357.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.17.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $5.66 on Monday, reaching $297.04. 410,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 447,897. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $233.31 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business 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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

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.