51,744 Shares in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,257,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of United Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,950.62. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total transaction of $9,781,722.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,134.22. The trade was a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UTHR. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $322.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $349.12 and a 200 day moving average of $358.27.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current 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.