Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,988 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,988 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in 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. GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $442,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $495,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 103,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,553,000 after buying an additional 13,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 22,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,821,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total transaction of $2,882,649.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. This represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,278,893. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $319.96 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $359.65 and a 200-day moving average of $360.46.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

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.