Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, reporting ownership of 146,349 shares worth about $27.7 million after a massive fourth-quarter purchase.
• Ligand’s latest quarterly results were mixed: EPS of $1.63 and revenue of $51.72 million both fell short of analyst estimates, even though revenue rose 14.1% year over year.
• Despite the earnings miss, Wall Street remains mostly upbeat, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold and an average price target of $257.71; insiders also sold shares in recent months.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 385,028.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,311 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.74% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $27,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

LGND opened at $207.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $98.89 and a 12 month high of $247.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.63 and a 200 day moving average of $202.23.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.71.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,250. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total transaction of $1,156,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,572,070.42. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056 in the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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