John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 80 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,355 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock opened at $319.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $359.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $360.71.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UTHR. UBS Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total transaction of $2,882,649.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,122.70. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.06, for a total value of $3,480,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,950.62. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock valued at $45,278,893. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.