Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 187,248 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 480,063 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 187,248 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 2.44% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $90,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,809,289.50. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total value of $93,633.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,915 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,939 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $200.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $227.92.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.