Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 1,507 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 69.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $172,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $839,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $101.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.80. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $77.43 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.48 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $104.06 per share, with a total value of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.