Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 189,967 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1,325.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,967 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.46% of United Therapeutics worth $72,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total transaction of $3,566,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,255 shares of company stock worth $32,614,521. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $314.12 on Wednesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $348.15 and a 200 day moving average of $357.92.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.