Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,983 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $91,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 670 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UTHR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $309.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.05, for a total transaction of $835,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 164,328 shares of company stock worth $40,002,673. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $3.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $273.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 499,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,907. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $280.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.34. The company has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.54. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The company had revenue of $677.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.31 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.61 EPS 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.