Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 1,414 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 35.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,594 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 1,414 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded down $23.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $363.25. The company had a trading volume of 619,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,344. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $362.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $326.65. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $722.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,574.40. The trade was a 23.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,396 shares of company stock worth $42,175,418 over the last ninety days. 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.