Fifth Third Bancorp Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3,519.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,501 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,349 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,336,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,004 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,112,000 after acquiring an additional 61,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,505.92. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $300.53 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $129.55 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $271.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current 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.