Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 7,374 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 41.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,232 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,374 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in United Therapeutics by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,606,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,269,803,000 after purchasing an additional 383,838 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,441,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,189,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,711 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,281,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $624,508,000 after buying an additional 295,221 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 796,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $387,801,000 after acquiring an additional 341,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $293,418,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UTHR. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price target on United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.33.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.58, for a total value of $5,785,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,921,276.08. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 502,833 shares of company stock worth $279,377,162. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $525.82 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $272.12 and a 1 year high of $609.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $544.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $532.54. The company has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $781.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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.