Mariner LLC Acquires New Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Mariner LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,574 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,866,000 after buying an additional 90,743 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,960,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 100,638 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,783,000 after buying an additional 41,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9%

LGND stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.48. The company had a trading volume of 148,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,286. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $77.43 and a 52 week high of $129.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $106.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share 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.