Advisor Resource Council Makes New $2.24 Million Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,425 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,244,000. Advisor Resource Council owned approximately 0.12% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $57,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,711,439.62. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LGND traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.07. 259,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,349. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.02 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $77.53 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $106.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.34.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 73.07% and a negative return on equity of 7.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.