DnB Asset Management AS Trims Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,462,018,000 after purchasing an additional 18,313,424 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $151,764,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $139,206,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 1,325.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,085,000 after buying an additional 189,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 577.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,962,000 after buying an additional 161,751 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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. 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.62.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. The trade was a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $940,373.07. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.