Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 4,005 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,886 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $3,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,802 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.41, for a total transaction of $2,694,888.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,108,766.10. The trade was a 70.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.36, for a total value of $2,828,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,485,785.60. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,227 shares of company stock valued at $47,398,820 in the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Argus increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of UTHR stock traded down $7.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $370.49. 211,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,426. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $208.62 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $367.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.65.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 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.