Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 12,104 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,541 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,104 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of United Therapeutics worth $23,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $310.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $221.53 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.31.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $919,164.36. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,755 shares of company stock valued at $29,792,021. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

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.