Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 20,374 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.1%, selling 20,374 shares, leaving it with 76,045 shares valued at approximately $8.65 million.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals received multiple upgrades from research firms, with Royal Bank of Canada boosting its price target from $155.00 to $185.00 and maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Insider transactions include Director Jason Aryeh selling 10,000 shares at an average price of $170.81, resulting in a 12.61% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,045 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 20,374 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.39% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $8,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings 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 worth $73,658,000 after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,005,000 after acquiring an additional 17,308 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,891,000 after acquiring an additional 10,851 shares in the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 288,827 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 277,791 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target 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. Benchmark increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $181.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.41 and a beta of 0.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $186.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.66 and a 200 day moving average of $132.73.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The firm had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's 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. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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