Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 65,570 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 84.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,637 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 65,570 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,816,000 after acquiring an additional 3,284 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 40,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,254,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 5,201 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $165.75. 298,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 153,688. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $169.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.44 and a beta of 0.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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 raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.50.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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

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.