Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 2,860 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.56% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $19,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $208.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 35.84 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98.

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

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total transaction of $93,633.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $613,369 in the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.