Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,358 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $216,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,956,894 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5%

LGND opened at $203.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of -50.79 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.09. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $93.58 and a 52 week high of $212.49.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.