Castleark Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Castleark Management LLC reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,113 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 2,810 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Barclays PLC increased 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 buying an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,208 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $172,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $839,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.60. 107,116 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,570. The company's 50-day moving average is $105.46 and its 200-day moving average is $111.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.48 and a beta of 0.87. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.43 and a 52-week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 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, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% 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.