Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,820 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake 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 worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 673.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $315.91 on Monday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $354.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $360.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a PEG 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 company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UTHR shares. StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $896,950.62. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,464 shares of company stock valued at $42,396,244. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.