Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 35,842.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,978 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 164,519 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.38% of United Therapeutics worth $97,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 41.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 225,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $110,045,000 after buying an additional 70,445 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $1,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 88.6% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of United Therapeutics stock traded down $5.42 on Friday, reaching $547.06. 301,306 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,796. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $556.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $529.44. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1-year low of $272.12 and a 1-year high of $609.35. The company has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Jan Malcolm sold 325 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.59, for a total transaction of $178,941.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $247,765.50. The trade was a 41.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 8,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.56, for a total value of $4,586,248.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,960,240.32. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 603,543 shares of company stock valued at $339,592,598 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.82.

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.