Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Increases Stock Position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,695 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,170 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.45% of United Therapeutics worth $72,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $33,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 7,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.37, for a total transaction of $2,882,649.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,743,122.70. This trade represents a 17.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.04, for a total transaction of $2,760,095.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,509,626.56. The trade was a 64.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,340 shares of company stock valued at $44,765,530 in the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $361.81. The stock had a trading volume of 293,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,515. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12-month low of $208.62 and a 12-month high of $417.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $369.94 and a 200 day moving average of $342.71. The stock has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.62 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. United Therapeutics's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.