Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 52,951 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 27.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 246,359 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,951 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $75,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,678 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 39,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,863,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Nepsis Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 58,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR opened at $297.33 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $300.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.55. The stock has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.53.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $794.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $726.82 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.44% and a return on equity of 19.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.99, for a total transaction of $187,043.55. Following the sale, the director owned 4,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,416,021.17. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.37, for a total transaction of $3,904,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,353.66. The trade was a 59.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,681 shares of company stock valued at $22,140,089 in the last quarter. 10.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $410.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $314.00 target price (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $383.08.

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.