Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Trims Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,221 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,704 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.8% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 1.54% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $31,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,934 shares of company stock valued at $335,060 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.1%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $7.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $137.57. 371,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 118,344. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.32 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.78. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $90.29 and a 12-month high of $137.84.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.17.

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.