KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $15.28 Million Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 43,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,278,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after purchasing an additional 50,291 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after acquiring an additional 123,929 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total value of $3,710,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $956,195.85. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,255 shares of company stock worth $28,995,021 over the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $312.99 on Monday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $345.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.05. The firm has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

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. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

United Therapeutics 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.