Ruffer LLP Invests $4.04 Million in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,449 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,039,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during 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 period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,678.52. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock valued at $42,396,244. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.7 %

United Therapeutics stock opened at $315.91 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $359.94.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.