Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Acquired by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,277 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 11,456 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $3,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,866,000 after buying an additional 90,743 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,441,000 after purchasing an additional 67,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $4,960,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.50. 37,659 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.32. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $77.43 and a 12 month high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The business had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.