Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 5,929 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 5.37% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $108,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 317.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.54. The stock had a trading volume of 79,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,050. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $77.43 and a 12 month high of $129.90. 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 $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.14.

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.