Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 26.7% in the first quarter, selling 19,166 shares and leaving it with 52,652 shares valued at about $10.5 million.
• Ligand reported Q1 earnings of $1.63 per share, below the $1.84 analyst estimate, while revenue came in at $51.72 million versus expectations of $59.10 million. Revenue still rose 14.1% from a year earlier.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on LGND, with several firms raising price targets; the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $319, above its recent trading level.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,652 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 19,166 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.26% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $10,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,050,000 after acquiring an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,944 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,741,000 after purchasing an additional 21,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, One Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $304.26 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $129.55 and a 12 month high of $326.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.28, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 in the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.00.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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