Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio decreased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LGND. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $71.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $94.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LGND. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

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.