Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.8%, now owning approximately 1.52% of the company, valued at $30.89 million.
• Recent insider transactions included Andrew Reardon selling 500 shares and John W. Kozarich selling 934 shares, reducing their ownership stakes.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with Oppenheimer setting a new target of $162.00, and HC Wainwright at $206.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy."

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,851 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.52% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $30,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% in the first 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 317.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,289.2% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $161.71. 147,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,902. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $163.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -40.43 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The firm's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.88, for a total transaction of $61,587.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,989 shares in the company, valued at $6,065,029.32. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.17.

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.