Aurora Investment Counsel Reduces Stake in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Aurora Investment Counsel lowered its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,381 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 125.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 88 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.07, for a total transaction of $4,540,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,712,246.04. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $549.29, for a total value of $5,492,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,368,398.04. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 634,984 shares of company stock valued at $358,175,202. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

United Therapeutics stock opened at $545.96 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a twelve month low of $272.12 and a twelve month high of $609.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $566.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $521.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.57.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 40.62%.The company had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. Bank of America upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. HC Wainwright upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on United Therapeutics from $707.00 to $701.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.42.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company’s primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.