Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 3,545 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Key Points

• Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.4%, owning 61,702 shares valued at approximately $6.49 million after selling 3,545 shares during the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed views, with Oppenheimer raising its price target to $145 and maintaining an "outperform" rating, whereas Wall Street Zen lowered its rating from "hold" to "sell."
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $1.33 per share, beating expectations, and a revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, significantly surpassing analyst estimates of $37.84 million.

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,702 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 3,545 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 1.4% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,816,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during 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. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% during 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. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% during 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, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

LGND stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.50. The stock had a trading volume of 86,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,083. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $90.29 and a 1-year high of $143.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.56 and a 200 day moving average of $112.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.61 and a beta of 0.84.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza purchased 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $104.06 per share, with a total value of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,934 shares of company stock worth $335,060 over the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.