Fiera Capital Corp Purchases Shares of 131,236 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp disclosed a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, buying 131,236 shares valued at about $24.8 million and giving it roughly 0.67% ownership.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 91.28% of the company, while several firms reported modest increases in their positions.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including Andrew Reardon and director John W. Kozarich, and analysts still rate the stock favorably overall with a Moderate Buy consensus.

Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 131,236 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $24,813,000. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 0.67% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted 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 valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,396,196.92. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total value of $352,012.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,339,171. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 22,025 shares of company stock worth $4,851,266 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $237.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $221.31 and a 200 day moving average of $205.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $103.43 and a twelve month high of $247.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LGND? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.