Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $52.87 Million Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates reduced its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, but the fund still owned 279,627 shares valued at about $52.9 million. Ligand remains its largest holding, making up about 2.9% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive: seven analysts rate LGND a Buy and one rates it Hold, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $257.71. Several firms recently raised price targets, including RBC and Citigroup.
• Ligand’s latest earnings report showed mixed results, with EPS of $1.63 missing estimates and revenue of $51.72 million also below expectations, though revenue still rose 14.1% year over year. The stock was trading near its 52-week high, and insiders have sold shares recently, including two directors in June.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC cut its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,863 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 2.9% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 1.42% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $52,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $110.00 and a 52 week high of $259.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock valued at $8,216,533. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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