United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 700 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of United Therapeutics worth $20,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Creative Planning lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,935 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 90.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,664 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $240,000. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 28.3% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 45.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total transaction of $3,710,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $956,195.85. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,398,793 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $382.08.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded down $13.42 on Thursday, reaching $367.36. 633,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,216. The company has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $362.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $359.89. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $214.52 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

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.