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. raised its position 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,054 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,777 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $344,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,841 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 9,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. The trade was 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 2,368 shares of company stock worth $311,153 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.46 on Tuesday, hitting $165.40. The stock had a trading volume of 252,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,787. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $169.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $141.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.35 and a beta of 0.96.

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