Cibc World Market Inc. Has $4.85 Million Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Cibc World Market Inc. cut its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 33,501 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. owned about 0.13% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. HC Wainwright raised 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. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock opened at $237.00 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $220.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.19. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $103.43 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 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 (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,396,196.92. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,816,680.91. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,025 shares of company stock valued at $4,851,266. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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