Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 2,200 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $4,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 63.6% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.17.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $355.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 4.18. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $366.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.85.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $714.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 40.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.24 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Raymond Dwek sold 5,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $1,626,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,362.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $2,771,078.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,900,005.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond Dwek sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $1,626,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,362.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,838 shares of company stock worth $36,782,385 in the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.