Barclays PLC Acquires 16,142 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,736 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,142 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $26,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $245,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $393,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 33.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after buying an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $7,686,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after acquiring an additional 123,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.78, for a total value of $3,121,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $10,437,712.18. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,971,540 over the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $284.73 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $233.28 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $316.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $348.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

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

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.