United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR Stock: Leuthold Group LLC Raises Stake

Leuthold Group LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 50 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 426.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.96, for a total value of $5,006,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at $170,968,483.28. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 411,028 shares of company stock valued at $218,802,969 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $582.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $535.33 and a 200-day moving average of $533.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.49. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $445.81 and a 52 week high of $614.23.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $5.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.01 by ($0.30). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $832.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $2 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $697.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $700.00 to $703.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $710.00 to $695.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $515.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $676.40.

United Therapeutics Profile

United Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes treatments for serious diseases, with a primary focus on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Its therapies include treprostinil products delivered by injection, inhalation, or oral tablet, marketed under brands including Remodulin, Tyvaso, and Orenitram. The company also markets Unituxin, a treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma.

Founded in 1996 by Martine Rothblatt, United Therapeutics is also pursuing technologies intended to address the shortage of transplantable organs.