Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 3,200 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.13% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,592,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $106.22 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $67.72 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.32 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.77.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.