Kings Path Partners LLC Sells 3,195 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Kings Path Partners LLC reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 38.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,065 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 3,195 shares during the quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC's holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,614,000 after buying an additional 24,921 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% 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, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,603.92. The trade was a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.37. The company had a trading volume of 26,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,130. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $104.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79 and a beta of 0.87. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $77.43 and a 1 year high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.14.

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.