Equitable Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third 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. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $112.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.78. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $67.72 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 44.93 and a beta of 1.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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