Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 84.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,637 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 65,570 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LGND. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 95,704 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 107,439 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $11,512,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 289,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,972,000 after buying an additional 15,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $536,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,368 shares of company stock worth $311,153. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

LGND traded down $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.75. The stock had a trading volume of 298,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,688. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.44 and a beta of 0.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $169.49.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.