Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New $286,000 Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,665 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $66,592,000 after buying an additional 17,444 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $2,012,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,590 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,671,000 after acquiring an additional 6,382 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND traded up $2.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $114.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 144,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,852. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.53 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -16.10 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $106.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza purchased 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 32,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,421,912. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.