California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 592 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,959 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 592 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.55% of United Therapeutics worth $56,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $513,000. Duality Advisers LP raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 15,642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,440,000 after purchasing an additional 5,622 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 670 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 3,892 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on United Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.25.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $235.95 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $204.44 and a 52-week high of $261.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.28 and a current ratio of 4.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $233.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.79. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.52.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.08. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 42.31%. The company had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In related news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.01, for a total value of $1,290,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,869,150.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.01, for a total value of $1,290,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,869,150.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,990 shares of company stock valued at $32,239,641 over the last ninety days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.