Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 27,843 Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RIGL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Rigel Pharmaceuticals position by 133.8% in the first quarter, acquiring 27,843 shares to own 48,646 shares valued at approximately $1.315 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.23% of RIGL.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell, resulting in an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $54.50.
• Rigel’s stock opened at $38.06 after declining 2.6%; the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.44 in earnings per share versus the $0.80 consensus and revenue of $58.82 million versus $62.40 million expected.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Free Report) by 133.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,646 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,843 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Rigel Pharmaceuticals worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,861 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $2,479,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 28,803 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 22,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $1,728,000. 66.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RIGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rigel Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.50.

Insider Activity at Rigel Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $354,375. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.6%

Rigel Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $38.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $52.24. The company has a market capitalization of $704.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.98.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.36). Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 121.50% and a return on equity of 47.99%. The firm had revenue of $58.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.40 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel's lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

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