International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 5,785 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 5,785 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 325,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,263,000 after purchasing an additional 121,049 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 136,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,163,000 after purchasing an additional 40,958 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 15.7% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 184,320 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,044,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 157.3% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 40,254 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 24,610 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $573,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $70.37 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.88 and its 200 day moving average is $67.97.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.