Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 207,093 United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 207,093 shares of United Therapeutics worth approximately $112.2 million, giving it a 0.48% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.08% of UTHR.
• United Therapeutics exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.27 EPS versus the $6.86 consensus, though revenue fell 1.9% year over year to $783.3 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 11 Buy ratings and two Holds, a “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $646 versus the stock’s reported $527.91 price.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 207,093 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $112,209,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.48% of United Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in United Therapeutics by 1,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 60 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in United Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in United Therapeutics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR opened at $527.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $530.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $538.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.59. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 52 week low of $302.19 and a 52 week high of $609.35.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $7.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.86 by $0.41. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 41.56% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $783.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.41 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UTHR. 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 report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $620.00 to $613.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $704.00 to $677.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $575.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $646.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.28, for a total value of $5,462,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,311,581.28. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.39, for a total value of $5,143,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,933,333.07. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 424,075 shares of company stock worth $227,336,485 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

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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