Norges Bank Buys New Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 602,191 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,418,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.40% of United Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $317,617,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $157,390,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $110,045,000 after purchasing an additional 70,445 shares in the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 209,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,284,000 after purchasing an additional 54,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 199,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock opened at $540.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $566.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $516.87. United Therapeutics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $272.12 and a fifty-two week high of $609.35. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $619.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total transaction of $5,274,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,956,712.48. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 614,043 shares of company stock worth $344,991,997. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.