Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Boosts Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 13,565 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.6% of Lisanti Capital Growth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned about 0.27% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $57,270.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,711,439.62. This trade represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,000 shares of company stock worth $218,310 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $114.15. The stock had a trading volume of 327,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,164. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $81.74 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $107.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.03 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.14.

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.