Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $667,000 Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Therapeutics Corporation worth approximately $667,000, purchasing 2,321 shares during the second quarter.
• Director Christopher Causey sold 1,000 shares for $440,000, resulting in a 17.05% decrease in his ownership; meanwhile, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares for nearly $9.5 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for United Therapeutics' stock, with UBS Group and Jefferies Financial Group setting new targets of $580.00 and $564.00 respectively, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,321 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $313,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 96.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 67,576 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,832,000 after acquiring an additional 33,254 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 77.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,246 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,783,000 after purchasing an additional 11,007 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 11.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $227,000. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.00, for a total value of $440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,140,600. This represents a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.80, for a total value of $9,490,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 238,435 shares of company stock worth $93,353,482 in the last ninety days. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $443.44 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $266.98 and a 12-month high of $444.57. The company has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $353.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.06.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on UTHR shares. UBS Group upped their target price on United Therapeutics from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $432.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $449.57.

United Therapeutics Company 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.

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