Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 33 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $100,519,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after purchasing an additional 436,851 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,422,000 after purchasing an additional 262,222 shares during the period. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $833,350.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.58, for a total value of $84,742.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,626,988.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,922 shares of company stock worth $36,541,398. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

United Therapeutics stock opened at $353.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $338.55 and its 200 day moving average is $290.39. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $366.08. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.