Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Bought by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,298,000 after purchasing an additional 382,597 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,107,000 after purchasing an additional 109,935 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 42.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,424 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,416,000 after acquiring an additional 32,379 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,130,000 after purchasing an additional 27,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $183.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 88.88 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $193.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.05. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total transaction of $91,489.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,460,765.17. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $611,192 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.