Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $586,000 Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $70.57 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.19. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $94.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 million. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.