Legal & General Group Plc Sells 26,064 Shares of United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its United Therapeutics stake by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,064 shares and leaving it with 173,592 shares valued at about $84.6 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: CFO James Edgemond and CEO Martine A. Rothblatt both sold shares in late May, and insiders have sold 601,473 shares worth about $337.1 million over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite the recent earnings miss, with 11 Buy ratings and 2 Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $619.42; the stock opened at $556.82 and was down 0.9% on the day.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 173,592 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 26,064 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.40% of United Therapeutics worth $84,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTHR. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $317,617,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,390,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 863.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 152,727 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,886,000 after acquiring an additional 136,883 shares during the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,055,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,167,000. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $655.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $569.00 to $626.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $707.00 to $701.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $516.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $619.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.63, for a total value of $5,656,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,876 shares in the company, valued at $10,676,831.88. 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.40, for a total transaction of $5,466,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,513 shares in the company, valued at $23,311,180.20. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 601,473 shares of company stock worth $337,090,644 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

More United Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: United Therapeutics is still drawing support from bullish analyst coverage, including recent higher price targets and buy/overweight ratings, which suggests Wall Street remains constructive on the long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to highlight clinical and business-development catalysts, including its PHINDER screening study, xenokidney/EXTEND trial progress, and a planned presentation at the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, all of which help keep the growth story visible to investors. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate article referenced United Therapeutics in a broader mid-cap stock discussion, but it did not appear to contain company-specific new information likely to move the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Martine Rothblatt sold 9,500 shares and CFO James Edgemond sold 10,000 shares this week. Multiple insider sales can weigh on sentiment, especially when they come soon after a disappointing earnings report. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s most recent quarterly results missed estimates on both EPS and revenue, leaving investors with an ongoing fundamental overhang despite strong profitability metrics.

United Therapeutics Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ UTHR opened at $556.82 on Friday. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12-month low of $272.12 and a 12-month high of $609.35. The company has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $566.51 and its 200-day moving average is $515.84.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by ($1.18). United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.62% and a return on equity of 19.24%. The business had revenue of $781.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.63 earnings per share. United Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Corporation will post 26.92 EPS for the current year.

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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