Chicago Capital LLC Has $106.15 Million Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Chicago Capital LLC holds roughly a $106.15 million stake in Ligand (561,423 shares, ~2.85% of the company) after a 1.3% reduction in Q4, and institutional investors own about 91.3% of the stock.
• Ligand beat expectations in the quarter with $2.02 EPS vs. $1.46 expected and revenue up 39.5% YoY to $59.7M, and the company set FY 2026 guidance of 8.00–9.00 EPS.
• Analysts are broadly positive—seven Buys and one Hold—with a consensus price target of $247.29, and several firms (Citigroup, Oppenheimer, Bank of America) recently raised targets or initiated coverage favorably.

Chicago Capital LLC decreased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 561,423 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,188 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 2.6% of Chicago Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Chicago Capital LLC owned approximately 2.85% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $106,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Citigroup increased 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total transaction of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,253 shares in the company, valued at $8,544,824.19. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $231.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 22.23, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.28. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $98.89 and a 1-year high of $234.76.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

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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