Denali Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Denali Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $263,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.3% during the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 7,134 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 93,532 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,571,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $55,746,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on UTHR. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $328.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $414.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $461.62.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.64, for a total value of $9,396,900.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $3,396,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,133.75. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 322,935 shares of company stock worth $133,361,282. 10.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $426.21 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $266.98 and a twelve month high of $459.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $395.28 and its 200 day moving average is $331.38. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.66.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 40.36%.The business had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.85 EPS. United Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.