Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 676.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $45,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% in the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% during the second quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,107,000 after acquiring an additional 109,935 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 42.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,424 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,416,000 after acquiring an additional 32,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,130,000 after purchasing an additional 27,030 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $201.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.38.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,662 shares of company stock worth $4,817,826. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.