Granite Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Granite Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,620 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 62,842 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $10,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LGND. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock opened at $183.98 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.88 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.35.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $611,192. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.