Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Position Boosted by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,934 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,519 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,614,000 after purchasing an additional 24,921 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,555,000 after purchasing an additional 61,996 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,902 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,201 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,906,603.92. This 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 this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,000 shares of company stock worth $218,310 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6%

LGND traded up $0.73 on Friday, reaching $114.39. The company had a trading volume of 52,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,156. The company has a fifty day moving average of $108.41 and a 200-day moving average of $110.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.07 and a beta of 0.84. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $85.18 and a one year high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 73.07% and a negative return on equity of 7.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.14.

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.