Summit Global Investments Has $1.14 Million Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 145.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,825 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,407 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments owned approximately 0.06% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.35. The company had a trading volume of 83,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,337. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $77.43 and a one year high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.