Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,439 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.57% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $11,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LGND. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $172,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $839,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,007 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.85. The company had a trading volume of 29,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,053. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.43 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $105.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.14.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza purchased 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,906,603.92. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. This represents a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.