Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,272 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased 7,272 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with a total investment of approximately $765,000, as part of their first quarter activities.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $1.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.54, with revenues up 14.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals' stock ratings, with new price targets set as high as $206.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook among equity research professionals.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,272 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,289.2% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $165.93. 110,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,516. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.48 and a beta of 0.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $169.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.52.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The firm'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. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,368 shares of company stock worth $311,153 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.