BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 30,865 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 754.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,865 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total value of $352,012.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,339,171. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 18,968 shares of company stock worth $4,163,441. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of LGND opened at $243.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $106.29 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $222.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.66.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.