Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 15,160 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 289,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,160 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 1.53% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $30,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,614,000 after acquiring an additional 24,921 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $104.06 per share, with a total value of $156,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.08 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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