GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 61,996 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 61,996 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.32% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,592,000 after buying an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 438,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,989,000 after buying an additional 10,171 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $109.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.62 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.43 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.