Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 45,975 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,975 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.24% of United Therapeutics worth $38,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,462,018,000 after purchasing an additional 18,313,424 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,567,253,000 after acquiring an additional 32,213 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $519,170,000 after acquiring an additional 393,777 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $401,184,000 after acquiring an additional 44,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,179,000 after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $284.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $321.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.58. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $230.39 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $3,367,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,261,606.58. The trade was a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,994,480. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Company 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.