First National Bank of Hutchinson Raises Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 300.7% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,693 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in United Therapeutics by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,350 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,008,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,325.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,085,000 after acquiring an additional 189,967 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $318.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $347.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $357.65. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $221.53 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 business posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % 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 United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,255 shares of company stock worth $32,614,521. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.