Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.31 Million Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 26.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,425 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,522 shares during the quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,816,000 after buying an additional 3,284 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,614,000 after acquiring an additional 24,921 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.10. 347,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,379. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $112.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.54 and a beta of 0.84. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $90.29 and a twelve month high of $139.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,934 shares of company stock worth $335,060 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.