Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capstone Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $978,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UTHR. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $619.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total value of $5,274,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $9,956,712.48. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 14,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.13, for a total transaction of $6,817,557.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 569,913 shares of company stock valued at $317,603,631. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $568.43 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $609.35. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $563.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.