United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Position Lessened by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,505 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 79,432 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.75% of United Therapeutics worth $118,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UTHR. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.71, for a total value of $3,707,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $955,319.67. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 149,048 shares of company stock worth $56,142,199 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UTHR. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR traded down $20.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $352.30. The company had a trading volume of 500,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,003. The company has a fifty day moving average of $365.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.81. The company has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $208.62 and a 12-month high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics Company 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.