The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 97,469 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $34,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $33,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

UTHR opened at $370.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.45. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $208.62 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.56.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UTHR. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Argus boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.86.

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.