Amalgamated Bank Has $564,000 Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,360 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This represents a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,000 shares of company stock worth $218,310 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $124.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 0.84. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $90.29 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.20.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.17.

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.