Virtus Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 56.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $136,453,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $83,533,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 198.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 350,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,635,000 after buying an additional 232,988 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 715,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,695,000 after buying an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,746,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $485.97 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $266.98 and a twelve month high of $492.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $447.65 and its 200 day moving average is $361.75. The company has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.77.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $7.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.27. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $799.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $447.00 price objective on United Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.56, for a total value of $9,012,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 578,435 shares of company stock worth $252,731,147. Company insiders own 10.30% 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.