Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 118.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $243.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $106.29 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total transaction of $352,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,339,171. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total transaction of $207,870.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% 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 18,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,441. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.