Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 9.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $1,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 14.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% during the second quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7 %

UTHR stock opened at $355.59 on Tuesday. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $366.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $339.75 and its 200 day moving average is $292.88. The firm has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $714.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 18.82%. United Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.24 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $300.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total value of $8,084,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,802 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.41, for a total value of $2,694,888.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,210 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,766.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,056 shares of company stock worth $35,319,164 over the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.