Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 769 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,377 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $16,526,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $4,657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 135,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after acquiring an additional 39,765 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.3% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 216,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,736,000 after acquiring an additional 39,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of LGND opened at $200.86 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $212.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -50.22 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.27.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total value of $89,220.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,835,254.09. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,894 over the last 90 days. 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.