Aberdeen Group plc Has $33.61 Million Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 39,482 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.97% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $33,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total transaction of $91,489.97. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,085.66. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192 in the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $183.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.81 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $212.49. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.92.

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.