Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,998 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 317.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.14.

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 stock was bought at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $103.47 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $105.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22 and a beta of 0.87. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $77.43 and a twelve month high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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