Court Place Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Court Place Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 57.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,783 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the period. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,708,000 after buying an additional 25,717 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 48,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 12,224 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 90,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,588,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,358 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $117.28 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.72 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 46.73 and a beta of 1.05.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.