Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,564 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 5,472 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.07% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $67,011,000 after purchasing an additional 148,437 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,670,000 after purchasing an additional 146,311 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $24,813,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $21,498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $300.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $132.21 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $282.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.39.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. 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 analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,231 shares of company stock worth $9,199,401. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.

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