Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 501,040 shares valued at about $94.7 million. Ligand remained its 16th-largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment on LGND is broadly positive, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The average price target now stands at $257.71.
• Ligand reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $1.63 and revenue of $51.72 million both missed estimates, even as revenue rose 14.1% year over year. Insiders also sold shares over the last 90 days, including director Stephen L. Sabba and insider Andrew Reardon.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 501,040 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 53,502 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.2% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 2.55% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $94,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,136,000 after acquiring an additional 221,996 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,011,000 after acquiring an additional 148,437 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $213.21 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $98.89 and a 52 week high of $247.38. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.20.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total transaction of $1,156,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,572,070.42. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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