Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 8,067 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 8,067 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $19,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,135,000 after purchasing an additional 12,360 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 12.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,981 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 5,531 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 585,969 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $186,656,000 after buying an additional 22,683 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,918 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.62, for a total transaction of $3,646,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $939,625.74. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,800 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $2,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,300. This represents a 52.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,630 shares of company stock valued at $54,371,916 over the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR opened at $358.93 on Friday. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $417.82. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $367.40 and its 200-day moving average is $353.73.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UTHR shares. Argus raised their price target on United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.36.

About United Therapeutics

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.