Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 325,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,263,000 after buying an additional 121,049 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 136,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,163,000 after buying an additional 40,958 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 15.7% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 184,320 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,044,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 157.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 40,254 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,412,000 after buying an additional 24,610 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 83,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,937,000 after buying an additional 21,272 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $71.00 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.95. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $94.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.40% 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.