BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 30,865 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 754.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,865 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.18% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $2,789,955,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,136,000 after buying an additional 221,996 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,011,000 after buying an additional 148,437 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,670,000 after buying an additional 146,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $21,498,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $243.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $222.27 and a 200-day moving average of $205.66. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $106.29 and a one year high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,396,196.92. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,441. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.71.

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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