Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 2,533 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.57% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $11,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $172,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $839,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of LGND opened at $101.29 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $77.43 and a 12 month high of $129.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the 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 owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.