Norges Bank Takes $151.76 Million Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 430,122 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $151,764,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.96% of United Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 663 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,761,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total value of $3,646,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $939,625.74. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,500 shares of company stock worth $26,134,500. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded up $5.38 on Wednesday, hitting $312.26. The company had a trading volume of 461,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,237. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $227.75 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The company's fifty day moving average price is $336.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.09. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

United Therapeutics 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.