Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,629,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,988,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $608,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,167,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $438,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $187,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 2.4%

UTHR stock opened at $515.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $530.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $538.70. The company has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.59. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $303.08 and a 12-month high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.41 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UTHR. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 target price on United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.28, for a total transaction of $5,462,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $10,311,581.28. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.39, for a total transaction of $5,143,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,333.07. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 424,075 shares of company stock worth $227,336,485 in the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics 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.