First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 115 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,796 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $90,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,655 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,574.40. This represents a 23.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,048 shares of company stock worth $52,435,099. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $370.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $356.03. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $208.62 and a 12 month high of $417.82.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UTHR. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.36.

United Therapeutics Profile

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.