Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE significantly increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 435.5%, acquiring an additional 3,301 shares, bringing its total to 4,059 shares valued at approximately $427,000.
• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $1.60 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 14.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts upgraded their ratings and price targets for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with Oppenheimer raising its target from $145.00 to $162.00 and Royal Bank of Canada increasing theirs to $185.00.

US Bancorp DE grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 435.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,059 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,816,000 after buying an additional 3,284 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 323.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,201 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 46,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $157.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8%

LGND traded down $2.71 on Friday, hitting $151.08. 245,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,190. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.77 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $127.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $157.54.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%. The company had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.