Westpac Banking Corp Has $441,000 Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,249 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,462,018,000 after acquiring an additional 18,313,424 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,567,253,000 after purchasing an additional 32,213 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $401,184,000 after purchasing an additional 44,277 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,179,000 after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 597,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $210,869,000 after purchasing an additional 30,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 4.8 %

UTHR opened at $292.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $333.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.39. The stock has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $230.39 and a 1 year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,373.07. The trade was a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500 over the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UTHR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.25.

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.