United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,598 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,500 shares of company stock worth $26,134,500. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.62. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $221.53 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.