Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 323.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,201 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $223,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,866,000 after buying an additional 90,743 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,441,000 after buying an additional 67,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,555,000 after buying an additional 61,996 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $118.22. The stock had a trading volume of 135,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,420. The stock's 50 day moving average is $106.86 and its 200 day moving average is $110.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $77.53 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -16.60 and a beta of 0.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.