Fmr LLC Acquires 314,004 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

FMR LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 41.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 314,004 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 2.41% of United Therapeutics worth $386,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Tri Locum Partners LP acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,959,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,321 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,174,692 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $692,748,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,664 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $475,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,785 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.37, for a total transaction of $2,821,050.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,597.55. The trade was a 74.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.75, for a total value of $3,727,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $960,576.75. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,227 shares of company stock worth $47,398,820. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

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

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

United Therapeutics Company 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.