Bridgewater Associates LP Raises Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 384.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,003 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.14% of United Therapeutics worth $22,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted 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 worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.8% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,115.25. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,802 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.41, for a total value of $2,694,888.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 3,210 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,766.10. This trade represents a 70.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,227 shares of company stock worth $47,398,820 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upped their price objective on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $378.13 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $366.18 and its 200 day moving average is $333.84. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.