Bessemer Group Inc. Cuts Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $3,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $18,257,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 172.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 318,451 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $112,362,000 after acquiring an additional 24,466 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $519,170,000 after purchasing an additional 393,777 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $281.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $230.39 and a one year high of $417.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $351.14.

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

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total transaction of $3,646,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $939,625.74. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,640,680. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics 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.