Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 270 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,174 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $139,206,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $386,168,000 after buying an additional 314,004 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 577.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,962,000 after buying an additional 161,751 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 419,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $150,492,000 after buying an additional 152,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,398,793. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTHR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.08.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $367.36 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $214.52 and a one year high of $417.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $362.70 and its 200 day moving average is $359.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

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.