One Capital Management LLC Invests $1.76 Million in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• One Capital Management opened a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, buying 9,287 shares worth about $1.76 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 91.28%, while insiders have been trimming shares, including recent sales by CFO Octavio Espinoza and insider Andrew Reardon.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, but analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $257.71.

One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,756,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,250. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,396,196.92. This represents 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,025 shares of company stock worth $4,851,266. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LGND opened at $234.40 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $101.67 and a 1-year high of $247.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $219.30 and a 200 day moving average of $204.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered 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 company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.71.

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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