Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.74 Million in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,698 shares of company stock worth $7,452,852. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $312.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $111.71 and a 52-week high of $320.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.