Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Jackson Creek Investment Advisors cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals position by 42.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,157 shares and leaving it with 8,313 shares worth about $1.57 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with seven analysts rating LGND a Buy and one a Hold; the consensus target price is $257.71, and several firms recently raised price targets.
• Ligand missed quarterly earnings expectations, posting $1.63 EPS versus the $1.84 consensus and revenue of $51.72 million versus $59.10 million, even though revenue still rose 14.1% year over year.

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,313 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,157 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,653,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% during the third quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 29,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 19,002 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,474,000 after purchasing an additional 6,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 82,991 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,701,000 after purchasing an additional 11,858 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.6%

LGND stock opened at $235.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $98.89 and a 1-year high of $247.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.53. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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