United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 142.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,091 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,411 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $41,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,999,000 after acquiring an additional 50,291 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total transaction of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,500 shares of company stock worth $26,134,500. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $306.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $340.06 and its 200-day moving average is $355.85. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82.

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

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.