Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LGND. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,816,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,614,000 after purchasing an additional 24,921 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $141.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.10 and its 200 day moving average is $111.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $90.29 and a 52 week high of $147.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 73.07% and a negative return on equity of 7.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,494.24. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,934 shares of company stock worth $335,060. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.