Cerity Partners LLC Has $4.10 Million Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $4,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 32.7% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,308 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,183,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $284.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 201,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,746. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.67. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $232.84 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raymond Dwek sold 4,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.55, for a total value of $1,138,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $497,962.50. The trade was a 69.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,261,606.58. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,500 shares of company stock valued at $27,849,960. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on UTHR. StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.