62,181 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 40%, selling 62,181 shares in the third quarter; it still held 93,325 shares, worth about $29.2 million.
• Ligand reported quarterly EPS of $2.67, beating estimates of $2.33, and revenue of $78.75 million, above forecasts. However, revenue fell 31.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $354.75; eight analysts rated the stock Buy and one rated it Hold.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 40.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,325 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 62,181 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises 3.0% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned 0.47% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $29,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,359,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 256.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,207,000 after acquiring an additional 16,406 shares during the period. Future Fund LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares in the last quarter. JW Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,264,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $690,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of LGND opened at $314.15 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $175.89 and a one year high of $326.63. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.73.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. The company's revenue was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $402.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $354.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.99, for a total value of $90,237.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 108,476 shares in the company, valued at $34,711,235.24. This represents a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,165,676.61. This trade represents a 64.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,372 shares of company stock worth $16,956,445. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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