Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 7,276 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Nordea Investment Management AB cut its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,276 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total transaction of $93,633.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,915 shares of company stock worth $5,373,809. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

LGND opened at $204.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.64. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $227.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.