Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stock Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 4,481 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $195,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 10,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $110,045,000 after purchasing an additional 70,445 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $1,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,136,000 after buying an additional 12,663 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR opened at $535.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $552.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $530.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Corporation has a one year low of $272.12 and a one year high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.82.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, Director Jan Malcolm sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.59, for a total value of $178,941.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $247,765.50. This represents a 41.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.99, for a total value of $5,091,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,714,562.87. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 564,743 shares of company stock worth $316,423,257 over the last ninety days. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About United Therapeutics

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.