Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 7,374 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 41.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,232 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,374 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $6,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arjuna Capital grew its position in United Therapeutics by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC increased its stake in United Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 5.4% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 465 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 833 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jan Malcolm sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.59, for a total value of $178,941.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $247,765.50. The trade was a 41.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.37, for a total transaction of $4,962,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 324,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,479,289.91. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 502,833 shares of company stock worth $279,377,162 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR stock opened at $525.82 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 1 year low of $272.12 and a 1 year high of $609.35. The company has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $544.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $532.54.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). The firm had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.40 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UTHR. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 price objective on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $685.00 to $687.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $701.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $648.33.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation NASDAQ: UTHR is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of unique products to address life-threatening illnesses. The company's primary focus has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), where it has launched several therapies designed to improve functional capacity and quality of life for patients. Its marketed products include continuous infusion treprostinil (Remodulin), inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso), oral treprostinil (Orenitram) and tadalafil (Adcirca), each tailored to different modes of administration and patient needs.

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