Prudential Financial Inc. Has $23.48 Million Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,541 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 12,104 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of United Therapeutics worth $23,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,567,253,000 after purchasing an additional 32,213 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 122.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,024,000 after acquiring an additional 7,847 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $429,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $15,278,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $454,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $308.27. The company had a trading volume of 611,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,409. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.62.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. The trade was a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,500 shares of company stock worth $26,134,500 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

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.