Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in Q2, owning approximately 647,941 shares worth $73.7 million at the end of the quarter.
• Insider trading activity included Director John W. Kozarich selling 934 shares at $125 each, reducing their ownership stake, and Director Jason Aryeh selling 10,000 shares at an average price of $170.81.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ stock has a recent average price target of $176.50, with several analysts upgrading their rating to "buy" based on strong earnings performance, including a reported $1.60 EPS for the last quarter.

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 647,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,229 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 3.36% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $73,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the second quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 3,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,497 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,353,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 9,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,868 shares of company stock worth $1,962,213. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3%

LGND opened at $166.76 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $172.45. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.69 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $153.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.41.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $176.50.

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.

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