Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,869 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 6,215 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 11,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $69.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.86. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $94.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The business had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.