Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Stake Boosted by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 1.4% in the first quarter, making LGND its largest holding and worth about $56.6 million at quarter-end.
• Other large institutional investors also added to positions, and overall institutional ownership stands at 91.28% of the company’s shares.
• Ligand reported Q1 EPS of $1.63 and revenue of $51.72 million, both below expectations, but analysts remain largely positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $319.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 3.1% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 1.42% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $56,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,336,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,004 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,112,000 after acquiring an additional 61,209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $300.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $129.55 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $271.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 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. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $319.00.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% 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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