Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 94.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,456 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $223,475,000 after acquiring an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $67,575,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,302,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.71. The company had a trading volume of 35,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,767. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $90.29 and a 52 week high of $143.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.64 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $117.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.61.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 73.07% and a negative return on equity of 7.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,934 shares of company stock worth $335,060 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.