Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 312,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 20,404 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.7% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LGND. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.7 %

LGND opened at $105.70 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $50.87 and a 52 week high of $115.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.21 and a 200-day moving average of $93.42.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LGND. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.83.

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.