Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 5.04% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $201,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,011,000 after purchasing an additional 148,437 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,670,000 after purchasing an additional 146,311 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,813,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,498,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,505.92. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,231 shares of company stock valued at $7,754,451 over the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $296.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $278.38 and its 200 day moving average is $231.36. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $129.55 and a twelve month high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.