Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 4,795 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,477 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,795 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of United Therapeutics worth $8,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UTHR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,913 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $466,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,614 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 23,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,441,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 856.0% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 870 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Therapeutics from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $314.00 price objective (down previously from $395.00) on shares of United Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on United Therapeutics from $346.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded United Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $314.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.93, for a total value of $3,310,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,781 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,506.33. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.76, for a total value of $3,607,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,678.52. This trade represents a 79.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,500 shares of company stock worth $20,765,280 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

UTHR stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $305.35. 518,041 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,023. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $299.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.44. The company has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58. United Therapeutics Co. has a one year low of $264.33 and a one year high of $417.82.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $794.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.82 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.48 EPS for the current year.

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.