Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Milestone Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Therapeutics by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 192,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $68,999,000 after purchasing an additional 50,291 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,532,000 after purchasing an additional 123,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nilda Mesa sold 224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total transaction of $92,350.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,215.24. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.48, for a total transaction of $721,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,574.40. This trade represents a 23.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,838 shares of company stock valued at $47,960,356 over the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.08.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $354.18 on Thursday. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.66.

United Therapeutics Company 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.