Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Down 5.2%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) were down 5.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $74.50 and last traded at $74.76. Approximately 37,892 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 157,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,617 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,027 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 378,118 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,537,000 after purchasing an additional 5,450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.