Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND is Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 298,035 shares valued at $31.3 million.
• Several analysts have recently increased their target prices for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with Royal Bank of Canada raising it from $155 to $185 and HC Wainwright adjusting it from $157 to $206.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported a 14.7% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $1.60, exceeding analyst expectations.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 298,035 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 12,629 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 4.0% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Ashford Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.55% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $31,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,816,000 after acquiring an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 40,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,254,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 5,201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.88, for a total transaction of $61,587.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,065,029.32. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,401 shares of company stock valued at $292,648 in the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $161.71. 147,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,902. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.43 and a beta of 0.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $163.34.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LGND. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $165.17.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.