Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Decreases Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Rating) by 37.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,109 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew 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 valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,078 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Institutional investors own 87.16% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5 %

LGND opened at $73.92 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.94. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $121.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -37.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 15.19% and a negative return on equity of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $50.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Higgins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.87, for a total transaction of $618,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 422,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,170,020.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and acquisition of technologies that help pharmaceutical companies to discover and develop medicines. Its products include evomela, IV voriconazole, duavee, viviant/conbriza, nexterone, and noxafil-IV. The company was founded by Ronald M.