Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases 6,777 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 18.2% in Q1, now owning over 44,000 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported $1.60 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing by 14.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts upgraded Ligand’s stock rating to "buy" and raised their price targets, with a consensus target price now at $176.50.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,054 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,777 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $108,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,929 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,575,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $58,302,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,891,000 after buying an additional 10,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 289,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,972,000 after buying an additional 15,160 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,368 shares of company stock worth $311,153 in the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,020. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.28 and a beta of 0.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $169.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $142.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.15.

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

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.