Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 191 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,267 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 191 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $4,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $315.91 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $354.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $359.94. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value 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. This represents a 83.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

About United Therapeutics

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.