Crawford Fund Management LLC Sells 9,908 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Crawford Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,908 shares during the period. United Therapeutics makes up about 1.8% of Crawford Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Crawford Fund Management LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $8,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UTHR. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.8% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UTHR opened at $378.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $417.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.15.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America cut their price target on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total transaction of $6,021,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,510.88. The trade was a 85.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.41, for a total transaction of $2,694,888.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,766.10. This represents a 70.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,227 shares of company stock valued at $47,398,820 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.