Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Has $49.59 Million Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 279,950 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,170 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 4.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $49,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the third 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. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $197.93 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 24.69 and a quick ratio of 24.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $195.23 and its 200 day moving average is $179.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.62 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The business had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total value of $88,533.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,275,925.32. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,738 shares of company stock valued at $519,702 in the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.