Castleark Management LLC Sells 18,040 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Castleark Management LLC reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,696 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 18,040 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,011,000 after purchasing an additional 148,437 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,670,000 after purchasing an additional 146,311 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,813,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,498,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,505.92. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $300.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $271.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.72. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.