Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in 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 bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,272 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $16,526,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,555,000 after buying an additional 61,996 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 190.2% in the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 68,299 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,181,000 after buying an additional 44,760 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $4,657,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 135,365 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,232,000 after buying an additional 39,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $165.97 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $144.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.46. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $169.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.49 and a beta of 0.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $75,775.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,386,399.72. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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 equities research analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Benchmark increased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus 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.

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