Natixis Takes Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Natixis acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.71, for a total transaction of $3,707,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $955,319.67. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,500 shares of company stock worth $28,179,150 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $314.00 target price (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded United Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $314.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on United Therapeutics from $357.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.17.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $291.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $233.31 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.55.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 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 business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current 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.