Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Bought by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,851 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $536,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 37,277 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after purchasing an additional 11,456 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 289,052 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,972,000 after purchasing an additional 15,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,441,000 after purchasing an additional 67,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $101.60 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $77.43 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,961,816.80. This represents a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.