Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,600 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 67.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,600 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This trade represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,231 shares of company stock valued at $9,199,401. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $300.79 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.39. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $132.21 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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.