Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,988 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $82,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $111,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total value of $2,882,649.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. The trade was a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 124,164 shares of company stock worth $45,278,893. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of United Therapeutics stock opened at $319.96 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $359.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $360.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTHR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

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.