Strs Ohio Takes Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested approximately $789,000 in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 7,500 shares during the first quarter.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported earnings per share of $1.60 for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $1.54, with revenue increasing by 14.7% year-over-year.
• Research analysts have shown positive sentiment toward Ligand, with Oppenheimer raising their target price from $167.00 to $190.00 and multiple firms assigning a "buy" rating.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 9,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $170.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,644. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $172.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.64 and a beta of 0.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $176.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,868 shares of company stock valued at $254,113. 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.