Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 11,131 Shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,002 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,131 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of United Therapeutics worth $17,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UTHR. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 3,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.7% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 3,330 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.5% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 13,603 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,441,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.5% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,092 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,669,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in United Therapeutics by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 196 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Therapeutics Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ UTHR traded down $13.55 on Thursday, hitting $229.72. 1,107,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,931. United Therapeutics Co. has a 52-week low of $204.44 and a 52-week high of $261.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 4.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50-day moving average price is $225.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.41.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported $4.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.08. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 42.31% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $575.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.72, for a total transaction of $1,312,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,004,933.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.72, for a total transaction of $1,312,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,004,933.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at $30,756.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 76,680 shares of company stock worth $17,886,630. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UTHR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. SVB Leerink began coverage on United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.40.

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.