Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Position Lowered by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 10,060 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $70.57 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $94.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.07.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.