The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $22.49 Million in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 41,501 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,486,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,868,735,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,269,803,000 after purchasing an additional 383,838 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,189,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,711 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $624,508,000 after purchasing an additional 295,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 8.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 866,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $514,016,000 after purchasing an additional 70,829 shares during the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 2.2%

UTHR opened at $527.91 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $302.19 and a 12-month high of $609.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $530.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $538.86. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.59.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 41.56%.The firm had revenue of $783.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.00.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.28, for a total transaction of $5,462,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,311,581.28. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.39, for a total transaction of $5,143,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,333.07. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 424,075 shares of company stock worth $227,336,485 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.