Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New $536,000 Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

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

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position 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 worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, hitting $104.16. The company had a trading volume of 9,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,714. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.43 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.51 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.80 and a 200 day moving average of $112.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

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.