Aberdeen Group plc Has $26.06 Million Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 229,230 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,989 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 1.19% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $26,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 647,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $73,658,000 after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,005,000 after acquiring an additional 17,308 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,891,000 after buying an additional 10,851 shares during the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the first quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 288,827 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,367,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 277,791 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,207,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $179.89 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $186.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -44.97 and a beta of 0.95.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.44, for a total value of $83,798.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,055 shares in the company, valued at $8,084,669.20. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,929,262 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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