Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,405 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,155 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.16% of United Therapeutics worth $16,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $91,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 670 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.09, for a total transaction of $929,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,551.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 3,600 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.09, for a total value of $929,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $33,551.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.31, for a total value of $1,291,860.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,880,130.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 141,790 shares of company stock valued at $33,572,685 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on UTHR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.78.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ UTHR traded up $4.27 on Friday, reaching $262.40. 779,523 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 541,180. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $204.44 and a 12 month high of $262.51. The company has a quick ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.40. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $6.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.54. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 42.05%. The firm had revenue of $677.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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.