Cornerstone Capital Inc. Decreases Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lowered its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 5,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 11,185 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $70.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $94.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The company had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.