Sei Investments Co. Increases Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,188 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.38% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $15,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LGND. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,050,000 after purchasing an additional 31,081 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after buying an additional 9,944 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,741,000 after buying an additional 21,932 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, Future Fund LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $296.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.36. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $129.55 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,231 shares of company stock worth $7,754,451. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.