QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $5,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTHR shares. UBS Group raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $319.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $359.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.46. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total value of $2,882,649.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,122.70. The trade was a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,278,893. 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.