Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $9.57 Million Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,123 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $9,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UTHR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $131,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.91, for a total value of $3,649,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,373.07. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at $2,703,424. This trade represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,500 shares of company stock valued at $26,134,500 over the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average is $355.62. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $221.53 and a 12 month high of $417.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.64.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $734.74 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.36 EPS. Research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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.