First National Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

First National Advisers LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 worth $104,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $9,781,722.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244 in the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $307.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced 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. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

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.