Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 12,783 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% in the first quarter, owning 59,878 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with Oppenheimer raising their price target to $162.00, and Royal Bank of Canada lifting theirs to $185.00, reflecting positive market sentiment.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported $1.60 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 14.7%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,878 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,783 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.31% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LGND. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $67,575,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,302,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 289,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,972,000 after buying an additional 15,160 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $157.31. 95,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,481. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $157.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.33 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $130.41 and its 200-day moving average is $116.07.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $157.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.