US Bancorp DE Acquires 3,301 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

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 raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 435.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,059 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,838 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,197,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.88, for a total transaction of $61,587.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,065,029.32. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,494.24. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,401 shares of company stock valued at $292,648. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ LGND traded down $2.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $153.79. 203,333 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,591. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $126.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.80. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $157.54. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of -38.45 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.