CWC Advisors LLC. Takes Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,021,000 after buying an additional 24,653 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $809,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 24,784 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 44,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $111.82 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $113.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.72 and its 200 day moving average is $92.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.77 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.