Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in United Therapeutics Corporation $UTHR

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation by 249.8%, holding a total of 7,934 shares valued at approximately $2.446 million after the first quarter.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for United Therapeutics, with Bank of America increasing it from $314 to $463 and UBS Group raising it from $415 to $560, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• In recent legal developments, insiders sold over 106,181 shares of United Therapeutics stock valued at approximately $35.54 million, indicating a potential shift in insider sentiment.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 249.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,934 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 5,666 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in United Therapeutics were worth $2,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 103.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $60,000. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.55, for a total transaction of $3,188,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,811.50. This trade represents a 98.40% 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, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.21, for a total transaction of $4,237,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,409.01. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,816 shares of company stock worth $45,836,113. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UTHR. UBS Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $415.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $295.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $510.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Nine 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $438.85.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of UTHR stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $405.02. 626,423 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,508. United Therapeutics Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.98 and a 12 month high of $436.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $318.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.62.

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

United Therapeutics 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.