Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Raises Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 95.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,617 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 678.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $284.73. 302,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,973. The company has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.66. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $233.28 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total transaction of $3,367,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $11,261,606.58. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,500 shares of company stock worth $30,971,540. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.