4,418 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Purchased by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,418 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $111.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.12. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $67.72 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.