United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $250,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,462,018,000 after buying an additional 18,313,424 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,567,253,000 after purchasing an additional 32,213 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,094,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $391,459,000 after purchasing an additional 45,566 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 597,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $210,869,000 after buying an additional 30,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 12.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 460,419 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $164,978,000 after buying an additional 50,409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total transaction of $3,710,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $956,195.85. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were 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 approximately $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,500 shares of company stock worth $26,134,500. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.