Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. sharply increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, boosting holdings by 358.8% in the first quarter to 107,859 shares worth about $21.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: several analysts raised price targets, including Bank of America to $388, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $304 target.
• Ligand shares were up 2.3% to $303.39, but the company recently missed earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, even though revenue still grew 14.1% year over year.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 358.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,859 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,349 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $21,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3,750.0% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 95,716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3,519.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,501 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 5,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $240,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $303.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $263.72 and a 200-day moving average of $224.59. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

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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