Kendall Capital Management Boosts Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Kendall Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.7 %

United Therapeutics stock opened at $315.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $354.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $359.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $221.53 and a 52-week high of $417.82.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTHR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 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 downgraded shares of 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 target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

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.