Metis Global Partners LLC Trims Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 159.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 10,034 shares during the period. Illumine Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,015,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,658,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,678.52. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total transaction of $90,721.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,464 shares of company stock worth $42,396,244 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.25.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $310.98 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52 week low of $221.53 and a 52 week high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $357.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $360.79.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.