Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires 169,010 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its ownership of United Therapeutics Corporation by purchasing 169,010 additional shares in the first quarter, boosting its holdings by 1,657.8% to a total of 179,205 shares valued at approximately $55.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for United Therapeutics, with Oppenheimer setting a new target of $575 and retaining an "outperform" rating, indicating strong expectations for the company's growth.
• Despite a 1.8% decline in stock price recently, United Therapeutics reported revenue growth of 11.7% year-over-year, although it missed earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report.

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 1,657.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 179,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 169,010 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of United Therapeutics worth $55,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,457,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,374,001,000 after acquiring an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,711 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $192,571,000 after acquiring an additional 4,145 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 518,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $159,823,000 after acquiring an additional 89,290 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,757 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,278,000 after acquiring an additional 87,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 465,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $143,381,000 after acquiring an additional 146,664 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UTHR. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $438.85.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8%

UTHR stock opened at $396.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.62. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $436.95. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $314.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.91.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.80 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.13 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.36% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The business's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 24.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.21, for a total transaction of $4,237,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,409.01. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 11,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.41, for a total transaction of $4,520,538.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 124,816 shares of company stock worth $44,247,193. 10.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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