LSV Asset Management Sells 60,741 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 908,724 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 60,741 shares during the period. United Therapeutics comprises approximately 0.7% of LSV Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 2.04% of United Therapeutics worth $320,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 678.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $131,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.7 %

United Therapeutics stock traded down $1.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $282.42. The stock had a trading volume of 264,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,630. The stock's 50 day moving average is $321.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.58. United Therapeutics Co. has a 1 year low of $230.39 and a 1 year high of $417.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.10 by $0.09. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $735.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $734.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.25.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Tommy G. Thompson sold 2,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.80, for a total transaction of $797,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,703,424. The trade was a 22.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.05, for a total value of $3,710,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $956,195.85. This represents a 79.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,500 shares of company stock worth $26,994,480 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics 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.