Emerald Advisers LLC Makes New $692,000 Investment in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 82.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $72,422,000 after buying an additional 262,222 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 567.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $178,972,000 after acquiring an additional 92,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock traded up $2.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $376.80. The company had a trading volume of 328,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,008. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.40 and a 200 day moving average of $317.82. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $379.51. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.38 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.45, for a total value of $1,171,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,308.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.45, for a total value of $1,171,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,308.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,384,115.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,622 shares of company stock valued at $39,668,152 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.86.

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.