Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,944 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,944 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 26,241 shares valued at about $4.96 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in LGND, and institutions now own 91.28% of the company’s stock, underscoring strong institutional interest.
• Insider selling and mixed fundamentals were notable: a director and the CFO sold shares recently, while the company’s latest earnings missed EPS and revenue estimates despite year-over-year revenue growth.

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 61.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,944 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% in the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $67,011,000 after acquiring an additional 148,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,136,000 after acquiring an additional 221,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,809,289.50. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,458,689.46. The trade was a 38.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $229.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $215.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.85. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $98.89 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.71.

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.

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.