Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 266,304 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. sharply increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, buying 266,304 additional shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings to 496,160 shares, worth about $93.8 million.
• Insider activity was mostly selling: director Stephen L. Sabba and insider Andrew Reardon both sold shares, and company insiders sold 18,968 shares worth about $4.16 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on LGND, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold, though the company’s latest earnings missed estimates even as revenue rose 14.1% year over year.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 115.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.52% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $93,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in 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. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in 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. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total transaction of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,441. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LGND. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $248.24 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $110.00 and a 52-week high of $257.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

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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