Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 2,391 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,073,892 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,391 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $392,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,653,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 29,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 19,002 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,474,000 after purchasing an additional 6,209 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,544,824.19. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 35,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,450,977 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $232.55 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $211.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.35. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $98.89 and a 12-month high of $247.38. The company has a current ratio of 22.23, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20.

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). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.29.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.