First National Bank of Hutchinson Acquires 93 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake 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 worth $104,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,950.62. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,255 shares of company stock valued at $32,614,521. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut 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 target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $318.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $221.53 and a one year high of $417.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $347.20 and its 200 day moving average is $357.65.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.