Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $76.44 Million Stock Holdings in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,651 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,956 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.49% of United Therapeutics worth $76,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 2,090,573.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,314,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,462,018,000 after purchasing an additional 18,313,424 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,441,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,567,253,000 after purchasing an additional 32,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,471,405 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $519,170,000 after purchasing an additional 393,777 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,292 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $401,184,000 after purchasing an additional 44,277 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 709,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $250,179,000 after acquiring an additional 157,363 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of UTHR stock traded up $5.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $297.04. 410,281 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,897. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $233.31 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $308.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $6.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $735.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $3,367,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,261,606.58. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total value of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,703,424. This represents a 22.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,500 shares of company stock worth $24,472,050. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on UTHR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of United Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $357.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $314.00 price target (down from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.17.

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.