Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6%, owning 40,456 shares worth approximately $4.25 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with Royal Bank of Canada raising it from $155 to $185, and HC Wainwright increasing theirs to $206, reflecting a strong "buy" consensus.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported earnings per share of $1.60 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue up 14.7% year-over-year.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.21% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 317.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,289.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of LGND stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $161.71. 147,031 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,902. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $163.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -40.43 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $136.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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.