Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $3.01 Million Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,524 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,462,018,000 after buying an additional 18,313,424 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,206,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,077,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $386,168,000 after purchasing an additional 314,004 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 1,325.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 204,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,085,000 after purchasing an additional 189,967 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 577.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 189,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,962,000 after purchasing an additional 161,751 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 255 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.77, for a total value of $90,721.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,696.56. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.68, for a total value of $3,566,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $919,164.36. This trade represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,255 shares of company stock valued at $32,614,521 over the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $318.85 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1-year low of $221.53 and a 1-year high of $417.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $347.20 and a 200 day moving average of $357.65. The firm has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UTHR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

About United Therapeutics

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.