Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $700,000 Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $66,592,000 after acquiring an additional 17,444 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,012,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,671,000 after acquiring an additional 6,382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $112.50 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $77.53 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.82 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $105.48 and its 200-day moving average is $110.51.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.14.

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.