Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 169.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,689 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $25,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UTHR. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $317,617,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,390,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 863.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 152,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,886,000 after purchasing an additional 136,883 shares during the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,055,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,167,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $471.00 to $519.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $525.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $601.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $470.95, for a total value of $10,596,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.48, for a total transaction of $5,274,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,956,712.48. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 420,795 shares of company stock valued at $224,011,581. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of UTHR stock opened at $573.46 on Wednesday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $272.12 and a 12 month high of $607.89. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $530.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.11.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $7.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.78 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $790.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.80 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.94% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.