Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $106.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47 and a beta of 1.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $67.72 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.