Shelton Capital Management Reduces Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Shelton Capital Management decreased its holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $292.78 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $230.39 and a one year high of $417.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $326.18 and a 200 day moving average of $352.23. The company has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,373.07. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,500 shares of company stock worth $30,640,680 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.