Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires New Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,346 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management grew its position in United Therapeutics by 82.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 966,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,837,000 after buying an additional 436,851 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $97,316,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 677.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 300,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,422,000 after purchasing an additional 262,222 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in United Therapeutics by 567.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 180,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,700 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 561,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $178,972,000 after purchasing an additional 92,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company’s stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR opened at $350.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.57. United Therapeutics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $208.62 and a fifty-two week high of $377.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $353.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.48. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $714.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $691.87 million. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 40.87%. United Therapeutics’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Therapeutics Co. will post 24.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of United Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total value of $2,855,916.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,277.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other United Therapeutics news, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total value of $2,855,916.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,277.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,812 shares of company stock worth $35,251,926. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

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.