Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 1,959 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tri Locum Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $15,959,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $68,999,000 after buying an additional 50,291 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,532,000 after acquiring an additional 123,929 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,441,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 384.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 61,755 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $22,130,000 after acquiring an additional 49,003 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $7.46 during trading on Monday, hitting $358.93. The company had a trading volume of 248,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,993. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.29. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $417.82.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total transaction of $3,646,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $939,625.74. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,848 shares of company stock valued at $51,515,999. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

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.