Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,207 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.41% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $8,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 503.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 94,659 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,793,000 after purchasing an additional 78,973 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,208 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,572 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 13,520 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:LGND traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $104.84. 61,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,296. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.21 and a 200-day moving average of $112.37. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.43 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.