United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stake Lessened by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,005 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 10,768 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.19% of United Therapeutics worth $30,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $131,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $305.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $351.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $359.12. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82.

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. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis W. Sullivan sold 26,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total transaction of $9,781,722.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,134.22. This represents a 83.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

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.