Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 1,460 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,646 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $104.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68 and a beta of 1.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.72 and a 1 year high of $129.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.