3,455 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings bought 3,455 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter, valued at approximately $690,000. Institutional investors collectively own 91.28% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: seven rate LGND a Buy and one rates it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.
• Ligand’s shares opened at $296.29, near their 12-month high of $326.63, despite the latest quarter missing earnings and revenue estimates. Company insiders have sold 30,231 shares worth about $7.75 million over the past 90 days.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,455 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,050,000 after buying an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,961,000 after buying an additional 9,944 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,741,000 after buying an additional 21,932 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,755,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,231 shares of company stock valued at $7,754,451. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $296.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $129.55 and a 12 month high of $326.63. The firm's 50-day moving average is $278.38 and its 200 day moving average is $231.36. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS 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.

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