Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,903,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $420,000. Kendall Capital Management grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 4,212 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 13,769.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,015 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,982,000 after buying an additional 8,950 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,646,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 94,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,617,000 after buying an additional 33,338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UTHR. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $213.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $309.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total transaction of $3,548,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Martine A. Rothblatt sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.59, for a total value of $3,548,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,756.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.72, for a total value of $1,312,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,004,933.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,590 shares of company stock worth $30,149,097. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

United Therapeutics stock traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $231.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 498,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,994. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $229.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.29. The company has a quick ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.52. United Therapeutics Co. has a 12 month low of $204.44 and a 12 month high of $261.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $614.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $575.01 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 42.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Therapeutics Co. will post 23.46 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.