The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,314 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,469 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.22% of United Therapeutics worth $34,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 22.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,119 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 566,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $203,078,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $370.49 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $367.42 and a 200 day moving average of $334.45.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.41, for a total value of $2,694,888.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 3,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,766.10. This represents a 70.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.44, for a total value of $6,021,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,510.88. This trade represents a 85.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,227 shares of company stock worth $47,398,820. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. Argus upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

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.