Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,747 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.21% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $3,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 312,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,316,000 after acquiring an additional 20,404 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $122.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 48.57 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $58.97 and a 1-year high of $129.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575. 5.90% of the stock is owned by 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.