Westover Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,925 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 675 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $2,346,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $131,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 15,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $310.03 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $221.53 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The company has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $358.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $360.88.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total transaction of $3,607,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,678.52. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,278,893. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

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.